🧵Few observations from #Riga after talking with several senior officials from across the Alliance at the #NATO #ForMin meeting:
• the scale of Russian military build up is unprecedented - this is NOT a repeat of the spring built up. The talk of war in Ukraine is in the air.
• the scale of Russian military build up is unprecedented - this is NOT a repeat of the spring built up. The talk of war in Ukraine is in the air.
• Russia’s ultimate intentions are not clear - but the scale and capabilities that are being prepared would allow it to strike Ukraine from three directions, perhaps including from the north through Belarus.
• The broader strategic community, including think tanks, for the moment deeply underestimates the severity of the situation due to classification of the specific information presented to the Allies.
• In Riga, the Alliance has built a common understanding of the operational picture in Ukraine and Belarus.
• Allies have put on a table a number of economic, political, and military measures that can be deployed both bilaterally and by the Alliance as a whole to deter Russia.
• Allies have put on a table a number of economic, political, and military measures that can be deployed both bilaterally and by the Alliance as a whole to deter Russia.
• NATO is determined to avoid mistakes made in 2014, and to effectively deter Russia. This will require strengthening Allies presence also in the Baltic states, and Poland.
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