German minister condemns Nato ‘warmongering’ against Russia
THE German foreign minister has broken ranks with Nato allies, accusing the alliance of “warmongering” against Russia.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke out against recent Nato military exercises in Poland and the Baltics. “The one thing we shouldn’t do now is inflame the situation with loud sabre-rattling and warmongering,” the minister told
newspaper. “Anyone who thinks a symbolic tank parade on the alliance’s eastern border will bring security is wrong,” he said in excerpts released ahead of a longer interview to be published today. “We would be well advised not to provide a pretext to renew an old confrontation.”
Mr Steinmeier was speaking after Nato staged its largest war game in eastern Europe since the end Cold War earlier this month.
About 31,000 troops, including 1,000 from the UK, took part in Operation Anaconda, a 10-day exercise simulating a Russian attack on Poland.
The exercise was the first time German tanks had crossed Poland from west to east since the Second World War. Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, made it clear the exercise was directed of the against Russia. “The aim of the exercise is clear,” he said. “We are preparing for an attack.” Mr Steinmeier’s mention of “sabre-rattling” was a clear reference to Operation Saber Strike, another exercise under way in the Baltic states.
It is an annual US-led exercise held since 2010. This year it is much larger than in the past and will involve around 10,000 troops from 13 countries, including the UK. Both exercises come ahead of a Nato summit in Warsaw next month at which the alliance is expected to agree to station more troops in Poland and the Baltics.
Nato officials say the exercises are intended as a deterrent against Russian aggression. “There will be more Nato troops in Poland after the Warsaw Summit, to send a clear signal that an attack on Poland will be considered an attack on the whole alliance,” said Jens Stoltenberg, Nato secretary-general.