Are there any signs that Russia is planning to attack Latvia? US Admiral Explains

“There is no indication that Russia is planning to attack one of the NATO countries. I don’t think there is a direct threat. The problem is that Russia’s ambitions extend beyond Ukraine. We know that, so the alliance as a whole needs to become more prepared.” – noted the admiral.

At the same time, the alliance came to an agreement that Russia should be considered a threat, and accordingly, the alliance changed military plans, refocusing attention on collective defense. These plans were approved by NATO at the Vilnius summit.

Ukraine’s experience suggests that Russia does not attack directly: even before the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia supported the separatists. When asked whether NATO considers it a threat if something like this happens in one of the Baltic countries, Bauer replied that according to Article 3 of the NATO treaty, each country must be able to defend itself.

“If something like this happens, then it is the responsibility of the relevant country to take care of security. If we are talking about hybrid operations, then, for example, Latvia will have to react to this. Of course, if Latvia wants to start consultations with other participating countries, like this provided for in Article 4, this is possible. We will talk about this and agree on how we, as an alliance, will continue to act. I would like to note that cyber activity on the part of another state is a sufficient reason for triggering Article 5. Article 5 can be invoked not only in the event of a direct attack,” Bauer emphasized.

Ahead of the US presidential elections at the end of the year, the admiral also assured that he is not afraid of Donald Trump being re-elected to this post. Trump has not yet been elected, and it is clear that his previous statements were not aimed at NATO as a whole, but related to the fact that some countries do not allocate sufficient funding for defense. At the same time, the alliance countries are now ready to spend more on defense.

Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer will visit Latvia until March 29. During the visit, he will meet with Defense Minister Spruds and the Commander of the National Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Leonid Kalnins, to discuss current issues of international and regional security.