NATO chief Mark Rutte told Euronews there is no immediate threat to the alliance and he does not take Russia's Kaliningrad nuclear warning seriously, saying Moscow is trying to distract from its struggles in Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has told Euronews there is no immediate threat to the alliance's territory, adding that he does not take Russia's nuclear threats seriously because Moscow could never win a confrontation with NATO.
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"We have prepared for this, we have planned for this, and this is true for the whole of NATO," Rutte said at the Euronews Defence & Space Summit in Brussels on Wednesday.
"We will defend every inch of NATO territory. That threat is not there, and if anything happens, we are ready to counter it."
His remarks follow media reports that Russia sent NATO a letter warning it against any attempt to cut off the exclave of Kaliningrad from the Russian mainland. Moscow said it was ready to use its entire arsenal, including nuclear weapons.
"We are a defensive alliance. Stop the nuclear threat. This is absolutely not called for and not helpful. And particularly stop the war in Ukraine, which is an unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine," Rutte said.
Rutte declined to confirm the contents of the letter, saying it was up to Russia to disclose them. He dismissed the idea of a concrete nuclear threat or escalation against the Baltic states.
"Everybody knows that he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] can never win against NATO. I don't take this seriously. But of course, we have to reply and make clear that NATO is a defensive alliance, as I said, and stop the war in Ukraine and stop the nuclear threats," he said.
The NATO chief said Russia is losing 43,000 troops killed or seriously wounded a month on the front line. He added that Kyiv is doing much better than a year ago and that allies continue to provide military support.
For Rutte, NATO should stay calm, keep backing Ukraine and ramp up its defence investment.
"If necessary, of course we will defend ourselves. But the most important thing is this is all happening because the war is not going well for him in Ukraine. He wants to divide us. He wants us to lose attention when it comes to Ukraine," Rutte said.