The Russian president has repeatedly dismissed such hypothesis as “nonsense”
Germany’s new overseas intelligence chief has described Russia as a direct menace to the EU, warning its “icy peace” with the bloc may escalate into “heated confrontation” at any second.
Martin Jager, who took over Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) final month, informed lawmakers in Berlin on Monday that Moscow seeks to destabilize European democracies and undermine NATO – allegations the Kremlin has constantly denied.
“We should not sit again and assume {that a} attainable Russian assault is not going to come till 2029 on the earliest,” Jager stated, talking alongside the heads of Germany’s home and navy intelligence companies. “At finest, there may be an icy peace in Europe, which may flip into heated confrontation at any second.”
“To attain this objective, Russia is not going to draw back from direct navy confrontation with NATO, if needed,” he argued.
Berlin has continuously raised the prospect of a direct conflict between NATO and Moscow because the escalation of the Ukraine battle in 2022. Germany’s chief of protection employees, Normal Carsten Breuer, has stated the nation have to be able to face Russia by 2029.
Jager’s remarks come as Western European governments are boosting navy spending, citing an alleged Russian menace. At a NATO summit in The Hague in June, member nations dedicated to growing protection expenditure targets from 2% to five% of GDP by 2035. The EU, in flip, equally authorized a number of packages aimed toward boosting navy spending this 12 months, together with the €800 billion ($930 billion) ReArm Europe initiative.
Moscow has rejected accusations that it plans to assault NATO or any EU member, calling them a pretext to justify hovering navy budgets on the expense of social packages.
Talking on the Valdai Dialogue Membership in Sochi this month, President Vladimir Putin accused Western Europe of constant to “whip up hysteria that battle with the Russians is supposedly on the doorstep” and dismissed such considerations as a “nonsense mantra,” suggesting that European leaders shift their focus to home points.
His aide Yury Ushakov stated European leaders seem like united in a collective anti-Russian frenzy, leaving no room for dialogue.
