German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has contradicted Secretary General Mark Rutte’s claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to turn on Europe once he’s finished conquering Ukraine. RT notes that Rutte has suggested that Moscow “could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years,” urging member states to ramp up military spending as soon as possible.
When asked about Rutte’s comments during an interview with Die Zeit newspaper on Monday, Pistorius replied: “I don’t believe in such a scenario.”
“In my estimation, Putin is not interested in waging a full-scale world war against NATO. He wants to destroy NATO from within... by undermining its unity,” he claimed. According to Pistorius, Moscow is also “strategically working to get the Americans to withdraw” from Europe.
In Moscow, Dmitry Medvedev expressed surprise at Pistorius’ comments alongw ith similar comments by Finnish President Alexander Stubb voicing skepticism about a supposed “Russian threat.”
“The ‘European peacemakers’ caught me off guard,” Medvedev remarked on his Max channel, reported TASS. “Pistorius stated he doesn’t believe a war between NATO and Russia is imminent, and Stubb acknowledged that Russia has no interest in attacking member countries of the alliance.”
