Rutte: no reason to invoke NATO’s Article 5

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday that the shooting down of a ballistic missile headed for Turkey is not yet a reason to invoke Article 5 on collective defence. ‘No one is talking about Article 5,’ he said. According to him, it is crucial that adversaries have seen how strong and vigilant NATO is, particularly since last Saturday.

Turkey announced that NATO air defence systems destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile that was heading towards Turkish airspace. If confirmed, it would be the first time that a member of the Alliance has found itself directly at the centre of a Middle East conflict, increasing the risk that the war could spread to NATO allies.

However, the Iranian General Staff denied the claim and said that Tehran respects the sovereignty of ‘friendly’ Turkey.

Rutte also said that NATO supports US strikes against Iran, as the country was ‘close to becoming a threat to Europe’. The conflict between the US and Iran is now in its sixth day, has unsettled markets and forced thousands of people to flee the region.

(reuters, lud)