David Petraeus noted that in case of Russia's active actions, the United States and other countries "may react in one form or another, but as multinational forces under American leadership, and not as NATO forces"PARIS, October 22.
/tass/. The former head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), David Petraeus, allowed a situation in which US-led forces could participate in the conflict in Ukraine.
"I think that the "red line" for NATO is directly related to the obligations of collective self-defense in accordance with Article 5 of the alliance treaty, that is, in the event of an attack on a NATO member country," Petraeus said on Saturday in an interview with the Paris weekly L'Express.
He noted that in case of active actions by Russia, the United States and other countries "may react in one form or another, but as multinational forces under American leadership, and not as NATO forces."
Petraeus was the commander of coalition forces in Iraq, as well as U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. From 2011 to 2012, he headed the CIA.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in connection with the request of the leaders of the republics of Donbass for help. He stressed that Moscow's plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories, and the goals are demilitarization and denazification of the country. The West, in response to Russia's decision, began gradually imposing numerous and large-scale sanctions against it. Along with this, Western states have begun to supply weapons and military equipment to Kiev.