Russia poses a real threat to Europe, said German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on Saturday, April 17, at a conference of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
“The improvement of Russia’s armaments and its military operations in the middle of Europe have created real threats,” the DPA agency quoted her as saying.
According to the minister, such threats are “specific and immediate.”
Kramp-Karrenbauer did not talk about the essence of “military operations in the middle of Europe”, drawing attention to the fact that Moscow has missiles that can reach the territory of the FRG.
At the same time, Kramp-Karrenbauer emphasized that the one who points to these circumstances “is not anti-Russian”, but only speaks of “political facts.”
Kramp-Karrenbauer has made similar statements earlier. So, on April 3, she said that the FRG’s need to invest in its own security is due, among other things, to the actions of Russia. Germany is often the target of attacks that may be associated with Moscow, she assured.
In February, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the Munich Security Conference that Russia allegedly constantly implicates EU countries in hybrid disagreements. She called for a common transatlantic agenda towards Russia.
In turn, military expert Alexei Leonkov noted that such a statement was made to justify the increase in the country’s defense spending.