U. S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said at a forum in Qatar that he does not believe Russia intends to attack the North Atlantic Alliance. He stated that such a development appears highly unlikely in the foreseeable future. Whitaker stressed that NATO members, including the United States, take their obligations under Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty seriously.

Under this article, an attack on one member state is treated as an attack on the entire alliance, and NATO countries may take whatever action they deem necessary to support the affected ally, including military measures.

Earlier, the chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, said the alliance does not rule out the possibility of carrying out a «pre-emptive strike» against Russia, which he suggested could be framed as a defensive action.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova viewed these remarks as an attempt to undermine efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. She stated that Cavo Dragone’s comment exposes the myth of NATO’s «purely defensive» nature and fuels confrontation through anti-Russian hysteria.

In recent years, Russia has noted unprecedented NATO activity along its western borders. The military bloc has been expanding its initiatives, presenting them as measures aimed at deterring what it calls «Russian aggression.» At the end of November, NATO held exercises in the Mediterranean and off the coast of Italy. According to CBS News, the drills included simulated scenarios of a conflict with Russia. NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Alexus Grynkewich, said that by 2027 alliance members must be prepared to conduct military operations simultaneously against Moscow and Beijing.

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that Russia has no intention of attacking anyone. He has said Western politicians routinely frighten their populations with an invented threat from Russia to divert attention from domestic problems.