Source: Chatham House –
NATO chief Mark Rutte warns Russia could use military force against alliance in five years
News release
jon.wallace
In his Chatham House speech the Secretary General said he expects NATO states to commit to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence, arguing ‘America has carried too much of the burden for too long’.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Chatham House on 9 June to outline his vision for the alliance’s future funding and priorities, in his keynote pre-summit address before the NATO meeting on June 24 and 25.
In his speech, Rutte outlined the need to ‘make our alliance stronger, fairer and more lethal’ in order to meet an increasing range of threats, particularly regarding Russia’s capacity to rearm and threaten alliance countries in the near future.
‘In terms of ammunition, Russia produces in three months what the whole of NATO produces in a year,’ he said. ‘And its defence industrial base is expected to roll out 1,500 tanks, 3,000 armoured vehicles, and 200 Iskander missiles this year alone…Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years’. He repeated five years for emphasis.