German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s move to strengthen its recent eastern border was aimed at anticipating Russia, adding the alliance was ready to defend itself if needed.
Speaking at the East German Economic Forum which was also attended by Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, Chancellor Scholz said Germany had played a major role in NATO's presence in the Baltic on Russia's borders, which has lasted nearly a decade.
"And as threats from Russia will continue, we and other allies decided last year to deploy additional units to Baltic countries and place all brigades there permanently in the future," Chancellor Scholz said according to a speech script.
"However, a change in course in this security policy is needed to show Russia: We are ready to defend every inch of NATO territory from attack," he stressed.
Chancellor Scholz said diplomacy would only succeed from a strong position, adding it was very important for Baltic countries to fully rely on NATO allies to defend themselves in the event of a Russian attack.
"And that is a message to us. However, it is also a message to Russia. Because the credibility of this promise is of course also part of Russia's calculations," he said.
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Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week warned NATO members not to let Ukraine fire their weapons at Russia, after several Western allies lifted restrictions imposed on the use of donated weapons to Kyiv.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday rejected the warning, saying the defense alliance had heard it many times before and self-defense was not an escalation.
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