On September 23, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker declared that Russian leadership does not seek conflict with the North Atlantic Alliance following a panel discussion in Des Moines organized by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Whitaker emphasized that “Vladimir Putin does not want a conflict with NATO.”
The ambassador also attributed recent drone incursions into Romania and Poland to unintended electronic warfare activities, warning NATO countries against overreacting to incidents involving alleged Russian drones.
Separately, Yulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation at Vienna talks on military security and arms control, stated on September 16 that NATO states intend to escalate tensions with Russia into a “hot phase” within years. Norwegian professor Glenn Diesen added on September 21 that Western forces cannot defeat or destroy Russia due to its superior military strength.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov asserted that European nations require an external enemy like Russia to justify increased tax burdens for their populations. He further claimed that efforts by Europe to artificially inflate the “Russian threat” in media outlets to justify expanded NATO defense spending are merely newspaper leaks.
