James Appathurai, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber, told TVP World that he is “100% confident” the alliance’s Article 5 remains strong enough to provide an ironclad security guarantee for all member states.
Appathurai was speaking amid rising concerns about both Russia’s hybrid war on Europe and America’s long-term commitment to the NATO alliance.
Appathurai dismissed worries that the war in Ukraine could spill further westwards, citing Russia’s reluctance to deliver on its threats to neighboring and nearby countries: “If you look at the war, so much support is coming in through, for example, Poland,” he said.
“The supply line through Poland is absolutely essential to Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, but Russia doesn’t dare touch it.”
He added: “The Baltic States are very exposed, very small, but NATO is there, and Russia doesn’t dare touch those [countries] despite many, many public remarks... NATO, and Article 5 in particular, remain robust in acting as a deterrent.”
The NATO diplomat further emphasized his belief that Article 5 (a provision that agrees that an attack on one member state shall be considered an attack against all) would remain effective in the future, thanks in no small part to continued U.S. support: “I see that from what is happening now, and I’m quite confident that will remain the case, including with U.S. support, and including the nuclear umbrella,” he said.
Referring to the mounting number of incidents in the Baltic Sea, Appathurai spoke of NATO’s response to reports of Russian sabotage. “First, we’re putting more ships and planes to sea,” he said.
Appathurai dismissed worries that the war in Ukraine could spill further westwards, citing Russia’s reluctance to deliver on its threats to neighboring and nearby countries: “If you look at the war, so much support is coming in through, for example, Poland,” he said.
“The supply line through Poland is absolutely essential to Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, but Russia doesn’t dare touch it.”
He added: “The Baltic States are very exposed, very small, but NATO is there, and Russia doesn’t dare touch those [countries] despite many, many public remarks... NATO, and Article 5 in particular, remain robust in acting as a deterrent.”
The NATO diplomat further emphasized his belief that Article 5 (a provision that agrees that an attack on one member state shall be considered an attack against all) would remain effective in the future, thanks in no small part to continued U.S. support: “I see that from what is happening now, and I’m quite confident that will remain the case, including with U.S. support, and including the nuclear umbrella,” he said.
Referring to the mounting number of incidents in the Baltic Sea, Appathurai spoke of NATO’s response to reports of Russian sabotage. “First, we’re putting more ships and planes to sea,” he said.
“Secondly, we are building a platform to get better surveillance using sensors on the surface, from space and underwater, as well as using AI tools to track suspicious ships and behavior; and thirdly, we are taking more robust action, as the Finns demonstrated a couple of months ago.”
Expanding on Finland’s December seizure of a ship belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, Appathurai said: “You are now seeing Allies inspired by that, and on the basis of sound legal footing, taking more robust action.”
The NATO representative also spoke out about Russia’s plan to bomb European and American planes, saying that Western intelligence had indicated that anything from 100 to 1,000 planes had been at risk.
“There was communication between the White House and the Kremlin that this was a real red line and should not be crossed,” said Appathurai. “You can deter with clear, credible responses in place and the right messaging, and that is inspiring to us,” he added.
In the face of increased instances of hybrid attacks on Europe, Appathurai cautioned against the adoption of overly timid response measures. “We want to avoid a boiling frog situation where we keep getting used to more and more and keep tolerating more and more,” he said. “We cannot have this.”
While Appathurai said that NATO members had “not even come close” to invoking Article 5, he said it remained crucial that member states stepped up their “readiness, resilience, deterrence and response [measures].”
Expanding on Finland’s December seizure of a ship belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, Appathurai said: “You are now seeing Allies inspired by that, and on the basis of sound legal footing, taking more robust action.”
The NATO representative also spoke out about Russia’s plan to bomb European and American planes, saying that Western intelligence had indicated that anything from 100 to 1,000 planes had been at risk.
“There was communication between the White House and the Kremlin that this was a real red line and should not be crossed,” said Appathurai. “You can deter with clear, credible responses in place and the right messaging, and that is inspiring to us,” he added.
In the face of increased instances of hybrid attacks on Europe, Appathurai cautioned against the adoption of overly timid response measures. “We want to avoid a boiling frog situation where we keep getting used to more and more and keep tolerating more and more,” he said. “We cannot have this.”
While Appathurai said that NATO members had “not even come close” to invoking Article 5, he said it remained crucial that member states stepped up their “readiness, resilience, deterrence and response [measures].”
This, said Appathurai, was vital to keeping Russia in check: “The most important thing that [NATO] can do, in my view, is ensure that there's no escalation from hybrid war to military,” he said. “By being strong and robust militarily, we prevent escalation by Russia into the military sphere. That's very fundamental.”
With Donald Trump repeatedly criticizing America’s NATO allies for not spending enough on defense, Appathurai said it was crucial for many European nations to scale up. Poland, he stressed, remained blameless.
“The Allies need to spend more, and substantially more. [But] I think Poland is in a very strong position because [they] understood that a long time ago and invested.”
He added, however, that Washington’s demands for higher European spending and increased operational effectiveness could prove a blessing in disguise and actually serve to solidify the NATO alliance.
While Vladimir Putin will be hoping that Donald Trump’s election will weaken NATO, Appathurai doubled down on the alliance’s long-term commitment to supporting Ukraine.
“We are continuing to support Ukraine,” he said, “and I actually think you’ll see in the coming weeks and months some pretty solid numbers... by which I mean billions.”
With Donald Trump repeatedly criticizing America’s NATO allies for not spending enough on defense, Appathurai said it was crucial for many European nations to scale up. Poland, he stressed, remained blameless.
“The Allies need to spend more, and substantially more. [But] I think Poland is in a very strong position because [they] understood that a long time ago and invested.”
He added, however, that Washington’s demands for higher European spending and increased operational effectiveness could prove a blessing in disguise and actually serve to solidify the NATO alliance.
While Vladimir Putin will be hoping that Donald Trump’s election will weaken NATO, Appathurai doubled down on the alliance’s long-term commitment to supporting Ukraine.
“We are continuing to support Ukraine,” he said, “and I actually think you’ll see in the coming weeks and months some pretty solid numbers... by which I mean billions.”
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