Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (AKK), Germany's defence minister, stated that Moscow should be informed that NATO is prepared to use its nuclear deterrent in the event of a Russian attack on a member of the Alliance, causing significant reactions in Germany. The Russian defence ministry handed a protest note to a German military attaché on Monday in response to the German defence minister's comments about the need to deter Russia's nuclear capabilities, according to the RIA official news agency.
“We have to make it very clear to Russia that
in the end – and that is also the deterrent doctrine – we are prepared to use
such means so that it has a deterrent effect beforehand and no one gets the
idea, for example, the areas over the Baltic States or in the Black Sea to
attack NATO partners,” she told Dlf in an interview.
“That is the core idea
of NATO, this Alliance, and it will be adapted to the current behaviour of
Russia. In particular, we see violations of the airspace over the Baltic
states, but also increasing attacks around the Black Sea,” she added.
The remarks come after
Russia said last week that it will terminate current institutionalised talks
with NATO. Simultaneously, the Alliance decided on a new master plan to protect
against a future Russian hybrid attack.
According to RIA, the
Russian defence ministry called the German diplomat and "drew attention
to the comments by German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on the
nuclear deterrence of Russia, and a note was handed over."
Russia closed two NATO
offices in Moscow and stopped activities at NATO headquarters making the
relations at the lowest point since the end of the Cold War.
