Russia to stay a threat even if it loses war, says top NATO officer
Reuters
Published Jan 19, 2023 16:32
Updated Jan 19, 2023 21:26
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Russia will remain a threat to NATO even if its forces are defeated in Ukraine, a top military official in the Western alliance said on Thursday.
"Whatever the outcome of the war, the Russians will most likely have similar ambitions ... therefore the threat does not go away," Admiral Rob Bauer, the chairman of NATO's military committee, told reporters at the alliance's Brussels headquarters.
While Russian forces, equipment and ammunition have all been depleted by the war, NATO countries expect Moscow will try to rebuild and even strengthen its military capacity, Bauer said.
"The general belief is that the Russians will reconstitute what they had, they will also learn from this conflict themselves and try to improve what they had," said Bauer, speaking at the end of a two-day meeting of top military officers from NATO member countries.
"So that will most likely, further down the road, have implications for our plans," he added.
It would take time for NATO to assess how long Russia would need to reconstitute and improve its forces, Bauer said.
"Is that three to five years? Is it three to 10 years? That is something we will have to talk about together. It is something that will be looked by the intelligence services," said Bauer, whose committee is NATO's highest military authority.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.