NATO Secretary General Urges Allies to Blame Russia for Suspicious Incidents Without Proof

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has urged member states to blame any incident they find suspicious on Russia even if they lack irrefutable evidence of its involvement. He also hailed a recent accusation made by Estonia against its eastern neighbor and called on other nations to follow suit.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius this week, Rutte encouraged a public blame game over what he called “malign grey zone activities” routinely attributed to Russia by NATO members.

“You have heard the Supreme Allied Commander yesterday saying, ‘Hey, when able, when you are sure it is the Russians, or almost sure it is the Russians, attribute it to the Russians’ – exactly like Estonia did today. I applaud it,” Rutte said.

On Monday, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich described publicly attributing such incidents to Russia as a potential “deterrent” against the alleged “Russian threat” during remarks before a European Parliament committee.

Rutte has been known for his staunch anti-Russian position, as well as his ardent support for Kiev in its conflict with Moscow. Last week, he offered to help “protect the United States from threats of Russia” while speaking at a Chicago Council on Global Affairs event in Iowa. During his joint press conference with Sinkevicius, he also maintained that the bloc should be doing “even more for Ukraine, and not less.”

Moscow has repeatedly dismissed NATO members’ claims about the threat Russia allegedly poses as “nonsense” and maintained that it has no intention of attacking any of the bloc’s members. It has warned that NATO’s own belligerent rhetoric and active military buildup, as well as an unprecedented surge” in NATO military activity along Russia’s western borders could put the bloc on a collision course with Moscow.