Nato chief warns World War III will start with ‘simultaneous invasions'
Combined attacks from the Chinese and Russian leaders could trigger a world war and bring the planet to the brink of Armageddon, according to the military alliance's secretary general.
China would start by invading Taiwan while ensuring that the Kremlin dictator simultaneously attacks NATO territory, according to Mr Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister. NATO chief Mark Rutte has warned that World War III will start with simultaneous invasions from Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Pic:It comes amid fears that Putin has set his sights on the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, which were formerly part of the USSR.
Mr Rutte told The New York Times: 'Let's not be naive about this. If Xi Jinping would attack Taiwan, he would first make sure he makes a call to his very junior partner in all of this, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, residing in Moscow, and tell him, 'Hey, I'm going to do this, and I need you to keep them busy in Europe by attacking Nato territory'.
'That is most likely the way this will progress, and to deter them, we need to do two things. One is NATO, collectively, being so strong that the Russians will never do this. US President Donald Trump. Pic:'And second, working together with the Indo-Pacific – something President Donald Trump is very much promoting.'
Mr Rutte warned that Putin is rearming at a fast pace. He also insisted that Western countries should increase their spending on defence.
'We have an enormous geopolitical challenge on our hands,' he said. 'And that is first of all Russia, which is reconstituting itself at a pace and a speed unparalleled in recent history. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Pic:'They are now producing three times as much ammunition in three months as the whole of NATO is doing in a year.'
Mr Rutte stated that 'this is unsustainable' but added: 'The Russians are working together with the North Koreans, with the Chinese and Iranians, the mullahs, in fighting this unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.
'So here, the Indo-Pacific and your Atlantic are getting more and more interconnected. We know that China has its eye on Taiwan.'
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