Former advisor to Angela Merkel warns: Putin could order an attack on NATO

(Patria) - A Russian attack on a NATO member cannot be ruled out, said the head of the Munich Security Conference Christoph Heusgen today, a few days before the gathering of world leaders and military experts.

When asked if he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin could order such an attack, Heusgen replied:

"Of course. After all, Putin has repeatedly said that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century because it resulted in many Russians remaining outside the borders of Russia."

"Putin intended to re-establish a Greater Russia with the borders of the collapsed Soviet Union. It would be a global empire in which he would rule like a tsar," Heusgen told the Duesseldorf-based Rheinische Post and Bonn-based General Anzeiger.

According to him, if Putin does not lose the war in Ukraine, it must be considered that he could "grab Moldova or the Baltic states".

Heusgen refused to speculate on what Putin might specifically embark on, Hina reports.

"But we must do everything to ensure that Ukraine receives the weapons and military aid it needs to successfully resist the Russian aggressors and drive them out of its national territory," Heusgen stated.

Heusgen was the foreign policy advisor to former German Chancellor Angela Merkel between 2007 and 2017.

After that, he was appointed Germany's ambassador to the UN before taking over his role at the Munich Conference.

In an interview this week with conservative American journalist Tucker Carlson, Putin said that Russia has no territorial ambitions towards Poland and the Baltic countries.

"A Russian invasion of these NATO countries could be ruled out, unless Poland attacks Russia," Putin said.

The Munich Security Conference will be held in the Bavarian capital from February 16 to 18, with around 50 heads of state expected to attend. Russia and Iran have not been invited this year.