One Russian shot at NATO territory triggers Article 5, warns US - and they mean it, says expert
On Sunday morning, Russia attacked a military base in Ukraine just 25 kilometres from a NATO country.
If Russia fires just one shot at NATO territory, NATO will deploy all forces against Russia.
That was the tough message from US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at a press briefing on Sunday.
According to the security adviser, a shot at one NATO country would trigger Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty - the so-called musketeers' oath - which says an attack on one member country is an attack on them all.
However, this is not the first time that the US has warned the Russians against violating Article 5.
And the question is whether one shot is really enough to trigger a war with NATO, or is it just an empty threat?
Want to ensure credibility
If you ask foreign and security policy commentator Jacob Kaarsbo, the Americans are serious when they say they are ready to counterattack Russia.
However, he interprets the announcement more as an attempt to ensure the credibility of the US and NATO.
In a television interview with the BBC on Saturday, Polish President Andrzej Duda said NATO may have to intervene militarily in Ukraine if Russia uses biological or chemical weapons.
The warning comes after days of speculation about whether Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, intends to use weapons of mass destruction. And such a warning puts pressure on the US, says Jacob Kaarsbo.
- There has been frustration that Biden keeps saying NATO is not going to war with Putin. Because by saying it again and again, it gives Putin more blood on his teeth, he says.
Just last Friday, US President Joe Biden said that NATO troops in Ukraine would trigger a third world war. Yet Jake Sullivan says Russia will pay a "high price" if it uses chemical weapons in the war against Ukraine.
But the security adviser does not say how high the price will be.
But according to Jacob Kaarsbo, the reaction suggests that many NATO countries agree with the Polish line and want NATO, led by the US, to go further.
Putin has only respect for tough response
But the US's tough tone is not just a signal to the West, but also an attempt to intimidate Putin, Jacob Kaarsbo believes.
- There is no empirical evidence in history that Putin respects anything other than the harsher response. If he expects us to sit on our hands, he will continue, says Jacob Kaarsbo.
Sunday's announcement also comes hours after Russia attacked a military base in Ukraine just 25 kilometres from the border with Poland - a NATO country.
So it is right that neighbours of Ukraine and Russia fear an escalation and with good reason that the US chooses to react to it, says Jacob Kaarsbo.
But it's not just Russia that's getting warnings at Sunday's press briefing.
To China, the US says it will in no way accept China compensating Russia for the economic sanctions imposed on it by the US and a host of other states since the invasion began.
If that happens, the US will hit China with sanctions, Jake Sullivan warns.
Translated with
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