German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said NATO is ready to defend its territory against any Russian incursion while also stressing that the military alliance has no desire to escalate conflict with the Kremlin.
The warning from Germany’s top diplomat is the latest sign of European frustration over what he called an attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to test NATO’s defenses.
The military alliance’s eastern members have suffered a series of airspace violations this month, prompting European warnings to the Kremlin that they’re ready to respond with full force, including potentially shooting down planes.
“Our countries do not have any interest in escalation, but Russia perhaps wants to lead us into a trap,” Wadephul said Friday in an interview with Bloomberg TV in New York.
“So we are ready to defend our territory,” he added. “And Russia has to know that there will be no chance to win against us.”
Russian officials have denied their aircraft crossed into Estonian airspace and said that a separate incident when drones entered Polish territory was an error.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Friday it’s still unclear who was behind drone incidents at Danish airports in recent days. At the same time, she singled Russia out as Europe’s main adversary and accused Putin of seeking to destabilize the continent.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that comments by European officials about NATO’s readiness to shoot down Russian aircraft are irresponsible and that no evidence of airspace violations has been provided.
Wadephul repeated a warning made by Germany and its allies that Russia could be in a position to attack NATO territory by the end of the decade.
He referred to surge in military spending unleashed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ruling coalition as part of a pledge by the conservative leader to transform Germany’s armed forces into Europe’s strongest conventional army.
With assistance from Andrey Lemeshko.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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