NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference ahead of a two-day meeting of the alliance’s defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on 11 of October (Photo by Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s recent comments constitute an admission that NATO is fighting alongside Ukraine against Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
“NATO is not a party to the conflict. But our support plays a key role,” Stoltenberg said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Peskov has previously warned that the participation of NATO, and thus of the US, would be “extremely dangerous”.
On September 28, he said that the US is getting closer to becoming part of the conflict.
“More and more, the American side is getting into this conflict, it is getting closer to becoming part of the conflict, which is extremely dangerous,” Peskov told reporters.
Stoltenberg also said on Tuesday that NATO has improved protection of critical infrastructure following the alleged sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines at the end of September.
“Any deliberate attack against allied critical infrastructure would be met with a united and determined response,” he said.
Stoltenberg added that “hybrid and cyber attacks can trigger Article 5,” although he stressed that he could not comment on specific incidents while investigations were ongoing.
Article 5 is the principle that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all members, triggering collective defensive action.