DISINFO: NATO Preparing for War with Russia
SUMMARY
NATO has begun preparations for a full-scale war against Russia. NATO is getting ever closer to Russia and increasing its presence along Russian borders in order to draw the Kremlin into World War III.
RESPONSE
The Kremlin’s repeated narrative that NATO is preparing for war. These claims of NATO’s nefarious plans for World War III stem from reports from a meeting that Russia’s General Staff chief General Valeriy Gerasimov conducted with foreign military attaches accredited in Russia. Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star), the official newspaper of the Russian armed forces writes about the meeting with military attaches and cites Gerasimov, however nowhere does the Russian general actually say that NATO will soon unleash a war against Russia. Gerasimov, however, did say that “NATO’s military exercises show a targeted preparation by the alliance to deploy its troops in a large scale military conflict". When asked about the possibility of hostilities unfolding between Russia and NATO in the next 30 years, Gerasimov said that at present, there are no prerequisites for a large scale war. NATO has repeatedly emphasised that its course is in no way directed against Russia or any other state. NATO’s objectives are set out in the 1949 Washington Treaty which forms the legal basis of the alliance. The treaty states that parties “are resolved to unite their efforts for collective defence and for the preservation of peace and security”. NATO’s main mission is not to prepare for war, as Russian media claim, but rather to maintain stability and appropriate levels of defence readiness in its member countries. Read the most common fakes about relations between Russia and NATO here.