{"id":61033,"date":"2018-03-15T15:47:08","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T15:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/15\/nato-head-stoltenberg-warns-of-russias-reckless-pattern\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:30:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:30:32","slug":"nato-head-stoltenberg-warns-of-russias-reckless-pattern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2018\/03\/15\/nato-head-stoltenberg-warns-of-russias-reckless-pattern\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO head Stoltenberg warns of Russia\u2019s \u2018reckless pattern\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For some time, NATO has defined itself as a defensive alliance \u2013 not initiating offensive military measures and avoiding escalation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

BRUSSELS \u2014 The head of NATO has insisted that the alliance\u2019s approach to Russia \u201cremains firm, defensive and proportionate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg\u2019s comments, at the launch of NATO\u2019s annual report for 2017, come in the wake of the recent use of a nerve agent in the U.K., for which Russia has been widely blamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking in Brussels on Thursday, he said that attack, which has left a former Russian spy and his daughter in critical condition, was \u201cthe first offensive use of a nerve agent on alliance territory since NATO\u2019s foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll allies agree that the attack was a clear breach of international norms and agreements,\u201d he told reporters, and the alliance has \u201ccalled on Russia to address the U.K.\u2019s questions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the attack was part of \u201ca reckless pattern of Russian behavior over many years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This behavior includes the \u201cillegal annexation\u201d of Crimea<\/a>, military support to separatists in eastern Ukraine, and the military presence in Moldova and Georgia \u201cagainst these countries\u2019 will,\u201d according to Stoltenberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He cited another concern as Russian \u201cmeddling in Montenegro and elsewhere in the Western Balkans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also pointed at \u201cattempts to subvert democratic elections and institutions\u201d and Russian military buildup from the north of Europe<\/a> to the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stoltenberg also warned that the \u201cblurring of the line\u201d between nuclear and conventional warfare \u201clowers the threshold for Russia\u2019s use of nuclear weapons<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that the alliance would continue to seek \u201cmeaningful dialogue\u201d with Russia, which he described as \u201cdifficult\u201d but \u201cvital to increase transparency and to reduce risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t