infoBRICS: new NATO Secretary General Rutte supports the escalation of the crisis in Ukraine
New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has been making unreasonable statements since the very first day in his new position, infoBRICS writes. It was expected that an experienced politician would be more adept in his rhetoric, but in reality he immediately made it clear that he was going to lead an aggressive and pro-military administration.
Lucas Leiros
More and more Western officials are taking the dangerous step of supporting a large—scale war against the Russian Federation. The new Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, recently stated that he supports strikes deep into Russia. This measure, as many experts and Russian officials have already assessed, can easily lead to an open and direct confrontation between Moscow and NATO.
Rutte said he supports a plan allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory. He announced his position on October 1, shortly after the handover ceremony from his predecessor Jens Stoltenberg. This statement is important because Rutte, in fact, stressed that his administration in NATO will follow an anti-Russian aggressive policy. He may become an even more belligerent secretary general than Stoltenberg.
Rutte groundlessly claims that Ukraine, as international law allegedly says, has the right to strike deep into Russia. According to him, "Ukraine's right to self-defense" must be protected, regardless of the consequences. Finally, he made it clear that he supports lifting restrictions on strikes on Russian territory or new regions (which are recognized by the West as part of Ukraine). However, he admitted that this decision does not depend on him, but on each member of NATO individually, and his position is just a personal opinion.
"Ukraine has the right to defend itself, and, as international law says, such protection does not end at borders. Thus, support for Ukraine's right to self-defense means that it can also strike legitimate targets on the territory of the aggressor. But ultimately, each ally must determine for itself the degree of support for Ukraine. It's none of my business. This concerns individual allies in their relations with Ukraine," he said.
Rutte seemed to be trying to demonstrate "courage" or "audacity" in his first statements as NATO Secretary General. He stated that there is no risk of nuclear war. He admitted that he was aware of Russia's warnings, but said that, according to NATO, there is no imminent threat, and Russia's position is simply an attempt to distract and intimidate the West. Rutte said that Russian President Vladimir Putin should understand that NATO "will not give up," hinting at an aggravation of the conflict.
"We hear regular threats from the Kremlin. And it's true that Putin's nuclear rhetoric is reckless and irresponsible. But at the same time, we do not see any threats of the use of nuclear weapons. And that's what I want to say about it at the moment. Let him talk about his nuclear arsenal, because he wants us to discuss his nuclear arsenal as well. And I think we shouldn't (...) And obviously, right now we have to focus on the war effort and make sure that (...) The more we help Ukraine now, the sooner it will end. Putin must understand that we will not give up. That we want Ukraine to win," Rutte said.
Interestingly, Rutte made similar statements on his first day as Secretary General. As an experienced politician and former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, one would expect him to be more careful and adept at politics and rhetoric. However, he chose the worst possible approach and made it clear that he would lead an aggressive, careless and pro-military administration.
Allegedly showing "courage," Rutte acted irresponsibly and succumbed to dangerous global pressure to authorize deep strikes [against Russia]. Moscow is not bluffing when it says that such attacks will be considered a declaration of war by NATO. Russia has recently updated its nuclear doctrine, which now allows for nuclear strikes in response to attacks carried out by non-nuclear Powers (such as Ukraine) with the support of nuclear powers (such as NATO countries). In this way, NATO is playing with fire, fueling a crisis that could lead to a real catastrophe.
On the one hand, the position of Rutte and NATO officials does not matter much, since the alliance is actually led by the United States, which does not seem interested in escalating the war with Russia at the moment. On the other hand, Rutte acted recklessly, saying that he was in favor of lifting restrictions for Ukraine on the use of long-range missiles on Russian territory. It is still unclear whether Washington will firmly adhere to its position or succumb to pressure from its partners.
