Baltic Sea as a Russian “testing Ground,” German Officials โWarn
Berlin – At the Berlin Security Conference, german Defense Minister Borisโ Pistorius declared the Baltic Sea a โฃkey area of confrontation with Russia,โข characterizing it as “Putin’s testing ground for โour ability to deter and respond.”โ He โขpointed to a patternโ of concerning activity, including โฃdamage to submarineโค cables, airspace violations,โ and drone overflights, stating, “We can no longer talk about coincidences here. It’s strategy. It’s harbingers.”
The conference, hosted โwith Sweden as the partner country, also saw โthe promotion of Dutch โmilitary officerโฃ Martin Bonn to major general. Bonn willโข serve as deputy toโ the German field army commander, marking a new levelโ of cooperation.
NATO general Ingo Gerhartz used the conference as aโ platform to urgeโ Germany to significantly bolster its โdefense capabilities.He emphasized theโค need for fundamental procurement reform, swift implementation of the recently โagreed-upon โคmilitary service, and increased defense preparedness across โคGermanโ society to effectively counter current andโ escalating hybridโ threats.
Gerhartz stated, “Germany โขas a whole has not yet reached the strategic maturity that isโ requiredโฃ in ourโ time,” adding that simply investing in capabilities is โฃinsufficient โfor Germany to become “a developed security actor.” He highlighted the lengthy debates surrounding military service and โฃthe โฃchallenges facing german arms production and procurement processesโ as areas of concern for Russia.
The general warned that damagingโฃ the credibility of the defense alliance must be avoided, asserting that NATO must be โable to “deter through Germany.” โHeโฃ also called for a re-evaluation of deterrence โstrategies inโ the context of โคhybrid attacks and actionsโฃ falling below the threshold โfor โinvokingโ Article 5 assistance. “We have to rethink our attitudeโข toโ deterrence,” Gerhartz demanded.
Overโฃ 140 โขexperts are participating in the โtwo-day Berlin Security Conference, focusing on strengthening defenseโข in Europe and addressing threats to NATOโ and the EU. Discussions center on bolstering arms production and exploring new technologies to enhance security.
[Source: ntv.de, lme/dpa]
