Warsaw, Poland (AP) -Navo-Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned Russia on Wednesday that the Alliance would always stay with Poland or another member and that the reaction to an attack would be 'devastating'.
During a visit to Warsaw, the Polish capital, Rutte spoke in short comments alongside Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Tusk said it was important to be prepared for every outcome of conversations between Russia and the United States aimed at ending the 3-year war in Ukraine.
NATO members along the eastern flank of the 32-person Alliance, in particular Poland and the Baltic states, are very afraid that the conversations can end with a settlement that is favorable for Russia. They fear that such an outcome would enable Russian President Vladimir Putin to rebuild the forces of his country and to threaten other countries in the region in the coming years.
Rutte said that neither Putin nor anyone else should assume that they could get away with something like that.
“If someone misleaded and thinks they could get away with an attack on Poland or on another ally, they will be met with the full power of this fierce alliance. Our reaction will be devastating. This must be very clear to Vladimirirovich Putin and everyone who wants to attack us,” said Rutte.
Rutte's warning comes when President Donald Trump's return has shaken the security assumptions of the past decades and has forced Europe to try to spend its safety dependence on the US, with European countries that plan ambitious new investments in weapons.
During a recent meeting with Rutte in the White House, Trump said that he does not believe that a peace scheme for Ukraine would lead to Russia attacking other countries.
Rutte has warned in the past that Russia could be able to launch another attack on European land by the end of the decade.
“Let's not forget that Russia is and remains the most important and dark threat to our alliance. Let's not forget that Russia is moving to a war economy, and that will have a huge impact on their capacity and ability to build their armed forces,” Rutte said Wednesday.
