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Nato chief in warning over Russian wargames
Source: The Guardian
Nato chief in warning over Russian wargames
Julian Borger Diplomatic editor
Friday 13 March 2015 19.20 GMT
Nato’s secretary general has warned that increasing numbers of Russian wargames, with no prior warning, combined with the withering of regular military communications channels between the alliance and Moscow, raises the danger of misunderstandings between the two sides escalating rapidly.
Jens Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, voiced his concern a few days after Russia pulled out of a joint forum with Nato countries for discussing conventional arms control in Europe.
Since the Russian intervention in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, dialogue through the Nato Russia council, set up after the cold war, has been severely reduced, at a time of high tension and a faster tempo of military exercises by each side near to mutual borders.
“There are more and more snap exercises with no prior notification,” Stoltenberg told the Guardian during a visit to London. “It is important we keep the channels for military communication open to have as much transparency as possible to avoid misunderstandings and to make sure that incidents don’t spiral and get out of control.”
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Julian Borger Diplomatic editor
Friday 13 March 2015 19.20 GMT
Nato’s secretary general has warned that increasing numbers of Russian wargames, with no prior warning, combined with the withering of regular military communications channels between the alliance and Moscow, raises the danger of misunderstandings between the two sides escalating rapidly.
Jens Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, voiced his concern a few days after Russia pulled out of a joint forum with Nato countries for discussing conventional arms control in Europe.
Since the Russian intervention in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, dialogue through the Nato Russia council, set up after the cold war, has been severely reduced, at a time of high tension and a faster tempo of military exercises by each side near to mutual borders.
“There are more and more snap exercises with no prior notification,” Stoltenberg told the Guardian during a visit to London. “It is important we keep the channels for military communication open to have as much transparency as possible to avoid misunderstandings and to make sure that incidents don’t spiral and get out of control.”
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/13/nato-chief-in-warning-over-russian-wargames
