Putin knows Russia cannot defeat NATO, Rutte says

NATO territory is not under a direct threat from Russia, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said today in response to a letter from Moscow in which Russia threatened the alliance with the possible use of nuclear weapons.

"There is no direct threat to NATO territory. If there is a buildup of forces, we will see it and act if anything happens. Otherwise, we will act because we are prepared and have trained for this," Rutte said in response to media reports about Moscow's letter to the alliance at an event on Europe's defence preparedness organised by Euronews in Brussels.

According to foreign news agencies, the Russian government accused the alliance in the letter of "an unprecedented escalation of the military-political situation around Russia's Kaliningrad region," CE Report quotes STA.

It reportedly said that developments "carry a high risk of a direct armed conflict, with the possibility of Russian attacks on decision-making centres of alliance member states at the very outset."

The letter allegedly stated that "Russia will be prepared to use the full arsenal of forces and capabilities at its disposal, including nuclear weapons, to defend its territory if NATO countries attempt to isolate the Kaliningrad region from the rest of the country."

The NATO Secretary General said today that Russia's nuclear threat "is not real." "(Russian President Vladimir) Putin knows he cannot defeat NATO, so I do not take it seriously," he stressed. NATO spokesperson Allison Hart had already rejected Russia's accusations on Tuesday, saying that NATO is a defensive alliance.

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