Andrew Korybko
In his words, talk about Russia attacking NATO “is not
simply nonsense; it is a provocation.”
Several top “Non-Russian
Pro-Russians” (NRPR) influencers rang the alarm last month about Russia’s
alleged plans to attack NATO, which were inspired by top hawk Sergey
Karaganov and then Russian Ambassador to the OSCE Dmitry
Polyanskiy ominously
channeling his rhetoric. Readers can review examples of their
warnings here, here, here, here,
and here.
Casual NRPRs therefore braced themselves for what would have in that scenario
almost certainly been the start of World War III had it come to pass.
It obviously hasn’t and it
likely won’t ever, however, judging by Putin’s response when he was recently
asked about these alleged plans during a meeting with foreign
journalists. In
his words, “Why would Russia attack Europe or go to war with NATO? What
would be the purpose? As I have said before, these claims are not merely
nonsense. In my view, they are a deliberate provocation designed to create the
impression of a threat that does not actually exist.”
Putin then elaborated that “The objective is to persuade their populations to increase defence spending and, as a first step, to pay for the regime that seized power in Kiev. That, I believe, is the real explanation. It is not simply nonsense; it is a provocation. What surprises me, however, is that some people in European countries appear to believe it. I find that astonishing. The whole notion is simply absurd. It would be amusing if it were not so sad.”
