The Russian president has repeatedly dismissed such speculation as \u201cnonsense\u201d<\/p>\n
Germany\u2019s new foreign intelligence chief has described Russia as a direct threat to the EU, warning its \u201cicy peace\u201d with the bloc could escalate into \u201cheated confrontation\u201d at any moment.
\nMartin Jager, who took over Germany\u2019s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) last month, told lawmakers in Berlin on Monday that Moscow seeks to destabilize European democracies and undermine NATO \u2013 allegations the Kremlin has consistently denied.\u201cWe must not sit back and assume that a possible Russian attack will not come until 2029 at the earliest,\u201d Jager said, speaking alongside the heads of Germany\u2019s domestic and military intelligence agencies. \u201cAt best, there is an icy peace in Europe, which could turn into heated confrontation at any moment.\u201d\u00a0\u201cTo achieve this goal, Russia will not shy away from direct military confrontation with NATO, if necessary,\u201d he argued.
\nBerlin has frequently raised the prospect of a direct clash between NATO and Moscow since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Germany\u2019s chief of defense staff, General Carsten Breuer, has said the country must be ready to face Russia by 2029.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Relax, sleep well \u2013 Putin to the EU<\/p>\n
Jager\u2019s remarks come as Western European governments are boosting military spending, citing an alleged Russian threat. At a NATO summit in The Hague in June, member nations committed to increasing defense expenditure targets from 2% to 5% of GDP by 2035. The EU, in turn, similarly approved several programs aimed at boosting military spending this year, including the \u20ac800 billion ($930 billion) ReArm Europe initiative.
\nMoscow has rejected accusations that it plans to attack NATO or any EU member, calling them a pretext to justify soaring military budgets at the expense of social programs.
\nSpeaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi this month, President Vladimir Putin accused Western Europe of continuing to \u201cwhip up hysteria that war with the Russians is supposedly on the doorstep\u201d and dismissed such concerns as a \u201cnonsense mantra,\u201d suggesting that European leaders shift their focus to domestic issues.
\nHis aide Yury Ushakov said European leaders appear to be united in a collective anti-Russian frenzy, leaving no room for dialogue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Russian president has repeatedly dismissed such speculation as \u201cnonsense\u201d Germany\u2019s new foreign intelligence chief has described Russia as a direct threat to the EU, warning its \u201cicy peace\u201d with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20285,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t