‘There is no immediate threat to NATO territory,’ Secretary General Rutte tells Euronews

NATO chief Mark Rutte told Euronews there is no immediate threat to the alliance and he does not take Russia's Kaliningrad nuclear warning seriously, saying Moscow is trying to distract from its struggles in Ukraine.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has told Euronews there is no immediate threat to the alliance's territory, adding that he does not take Russia's nuclear threats seriously because Moscow could never win a confrontation with NATO.

"We have prepared for this, we have planned for this, and this is true for the whole of NATO," Rutte said at the Euronews Defence & Space Summit in Brussels on Wednesday.

"We will defend every inch of NATO territory. That threat is not there, and if anything happens, we are ready to counter it."

His remarks follow media reports that Russia sent NATO a letter warning it against any attempt to cut off the exclave of Kaliningrad from the Russian mainland. Moscow said it was ready to use its entire arsenal, including nuclear weapons.

"We are a defensive alliance. Stop the nuclear threat. This is absolutely not called for and not helpful. And particularly stop the war in Ukraine, which is an unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine," Rutte said.

Rutte declined to confirm the contents of the letter, saying it was up to Russia to disclose them. He dismissed the idea of a concrete nuclear threat or escalation against the Baltic states.

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