Czech leader Petr Pavel has called on NATO countries to put Russia in its place amid its constant provocations before it is too late. The alliance must demonstrate its strength in time to discourage dictator Vladimir Putin from terrorizing the bloc's members.
Points of attention
- Pavel emphasizes the need for NATO to show readiness to rebuff the enemy to make Putin know his limits and avoid further provocations.
- The approach of showing strength and determination to Putin is seen as essential, as restraint may be perceived as weakness by the Russians.
Pavel advocates a radical approach
According to the Czech leader, Russia and Putin only understand the language of force, so other scenarios besides this simply do not work.
Against this background, Pavel recalled an eloquent incident that occurred when he chaired the NATO Military Committee.
It was during that period that Russia violated Turkish airspace many times.
And only after the tenth violation, which was clearly intentional, it was a provocation and Russia was testing how far it could go, did the Turks get angry and shoot down one of the Russian planes. And peace came.
Peter Pavel
President of the Czech Republic
The politician believes that this approach should be applied now so that Putin knows his limits.
The dictator wants to have up-to-date data on how the air defense of individual states works, how NATO's integrated air defense system works, and whether the Alliance is ready to give a powerful rebuff to the enemy.
"If someone shows strength and determination, they have Russian respect; if someone shows restraint, Russians perceive it as weakness," the Czech leader explained.
