NATO chief Stoltenberg expects a long confrontation with Russia and is calling for faster arms investments. The head of the Munich Security Conference no longer rules out Russia’s grab for NATO territory.
According to its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, NATO must prepare for the possibility of a decades-long confrontation with Russia. “NATO is not looking for war with Russia,” Stoltenberg told “Welt am Sonntag.” “But we have to prepare ourselves for a confrontation that could last decades.”
Putin’s war showed that peace in Europe cannot be taken for granted. “If Putin wins in Ukraine, there is no guarantee that Russian aggression will not spread to other countries,” warned Stoltenberg.
Stoltenberg: Faster orders needed
The best defense now is to support Ukraine and invest in NATO’s military capabilities. “Deterrence only works if it is credible,” he said.
“We need to restore and expand our industrial base more quickly so that we can increase deliveries to Ukraine and replenish our own stocks,” demanded Stoltenberg. “This means moving from slow production in times of peace to fast production, as required in conflict.”
He therefore called for more and faster orders for Europe’s defense companies: In market economies, weapons manufacturers need signed contracts so that they can ramp up production, argued Stoltenberg.
Russia is preparing for a long war
The West’s economy and industrial strength far dwarfs Russia, Stoltenberg said. “So we have the means to surpass Russia in both production and investment.” Failure to do so would put Europe’s security at risk. Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing his country’s economy for a long war.
“He has ordered a 70 percent increase in Russian military spending and continues to procure missiles from Iran and North Korea,” the NATO secretary general said, adding: “Because Russia is gearing its entire economy toward war, “We also have to do more to ensure our security.”
Are the Baltics also threatened?
The head of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Christoph Heusgen, also warned of further Russian attacks. “If Putin doesn’t lose the war, we have to expect that he will also attack the Republic of Moldova or the Baltic states,” Heusgen told the “Rheinische Post”.
He doesn’t want to speculate about what Putin is really daring to do. “But we must do everything we can to ensure that Ukraine gets the weapons and military aid it needs to successfully defend itself against the Russian aggressors and drive them out of its territory.”
The Munich Security Conference begins on Friday – neither the Russian nor the Iranian government was invited by Heusgen.
Stelzenmüller: Europeans have to do more
The director of the “Center on the United States and Europe”, Constanze Stelzenmüller, sees Europeans in particular as being in charge in this context. Their governments should act more decisively at the NATO summit in July in Washington, she said in an interview with the Deutschlandfunk.
They should stand up to the USA and say that they have understood that Europe has to do more. Europe is a region with 350 million people, a huge economic power and must do more for its own economy and for the security of the world.
“In five years we have to be ready for war”
From the perspective of the highest-ranking soldier in the Bundeswehr, Inspector General Carsten Breuer, the Bundeswehr must be ready for war in five years. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, a possible war is being dictated from outside, he said in an interview with “Welt am Sonntag”. “If I follow the analysts and see what military threat potential Russia poses, then that means five to eight years of preparation for us.”
That doesn’t mean that there will be war – but it is possible. “And because I’m a military man, I say: In five years we have to be ready for war.” In the end, it’s about being able to defend yourself and thereby making the risk so high for an opponent that he decides against an attack.