German Politician Warns NATO-Russia Tensions Could Escalate

Sevim Dagdelen, a foreign policy expert with Germany’s ‘Alliance for Social Justice and Reasonable Economics’ party, has warned that blaming incidents on Russia without sufficient evidence could intensify a confrontation between NATO and Moscow.

Dagdelen criticised NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s advice to member states of the alliance, under which responsibility for incidents should be attributed to Russia if there is “confidence or almost certainty” of Russian involvement. She said such accusations were based on speculation and were not supported by evidence.

The German politician described attributing incidents to Moscow without sufficient evidence as unacceptable. In recent months, NATO officials and member states have accused Russia of involvement in acts of sabotage, cyberattacks and other hostile activities in Europe. Moscow has denied the allegations.