Putin is 'clear-eyed' on what would activate Article 5, says Nato chief Mark Rutte
The statement comes after European countries have claimed the Kremlin is attempting to cause disruption, after an after a series of hybrid attacks on European soil
Vladimir Putin is “clear-eyed” on what would activate Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence clause, despite the alliance’s efforts to keep its red lines secret, according to Nato chief Mark Rutte.
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The alliance has “all the response options we need” to respond to a series of hybrid attacks by Russia, but they may “not always be public” or “tit for tat”.
European countries have claimed the Kremlin is running a campaign of sabotage and disruption, including an attempted drone attack on a German airport.
The actions have raised questions over whether a hybrid attack on a Nato country could trigger the use of Article 5.
Mr Rutte said on Thursday: “We will never talk about what exactly is triggering Article 5.
“That ambiguity is there, and it will stay there.”
“But the Russians, I can assure you, I think, are clear-eyed on what that would be.”
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The Nato secretary general added that the alliance had a variety of options for reacting to Russian actions below the Article 5 threshold, and conveyed the idea that some could remain hidden.
He said: “We have all the response options we need.
“It will not always be public. It will not always be tit for tat.
“So some are symmetric, some asymmetric.”
This has included moves to undermine Moscow’s shadow fleet ferrying sanctioned oil product and Nato’s Baltic Sentry operation, launched following damage to critical undersea cables, Mr Rutte said.
He also said “these hybrid attacks are a clear sign of Russian desperation” in the face of heavy casualties in Ukraine, as Kyiv “is getting better and better in striking deep inside Russia”.
Mr Rutte has also said a “step up” of Europe’s own defence is necessary, as he issued a warning of “two-theatre” conflict if China began military action against Taiwan, predicting that would pressure Russia to attack Europe.
It comes as Donald Trump’s administration caused concern among Nato allies that it could reduce US forces in Europe, after it launched a six-month review in July of its military presence there.
But Mr Rutte said he was “not worried” about a decrease in force size.
He said: “We need the US to be strong also in the Indo-Pacific because if China moves against Taiwan or anywhere else in the first island chain in the Indo-Pacific, no doubt in the minds of anyone in the senior strategic positions in the US or in Europe, we have no doubt that China will force the Russians to move against us here.”
The secretary general was speaking during a visit to the UK in which he met Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Wednesday.
Rutte went on to have talks with Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and Defence Secretary Wes Streeting on Thursday.
Mr Rutte said when speaking to the BBC that he is “not worried” about Russia invading a Nato country and triggering Article 5.
When questioned over whether it “could happen in the coming years”, the Nato chief said: “I don’t think so because we are strong, so strong that he (Putin) will not try.
“What we have to make sure of is that we are as strong in two, three, five years from now…”
“So not worried today, but we have to make sure we spend enough so that we are strong enough in the future.”
He added that he has “absolutely no doubt” that the US would be supporting the Nato allies.
Mr Rutte said: “Nato is there also to protect the United States, these nuclear submarines, preventing them from ending up on the shores of the United States.
“The United States needs Nato. So we are in this together, completely connected. And this is what the President wants.”