A universal switch of attention: why the British Secretary of Defense called Russia a “real threat” to NATO

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that Russia poses a “real threat” to the Alliance. He announced this during an election debate at the Royal United Institute of Defense Research (RUSI).

“There is a real threat from Russia, for example, to NATO. Russia, step by step, millimeter by millimeter, is testing our resolve, ”said the head of the defense department.

According to Wallace, the Russian Federation partly for this purpose allegedly "uses a hybrid method of warfare." In this context, he also mentioned the Salisbury incident.

In addition, the British minister called on the North Atlantic Alliance, the European Union and countries that are members of the Five Eyes intelligence community (USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) to take control of the situation and "give Russia a decisive rebuff."

It is worth noting that Wallace made similar statements two weeks before the early UK general elections scheduled for December 12th. Recall that at the end of October, the House of Commons supported the initiative of Prime Minister Boris Johnson to dissolve the current government.

Moreover, the accusatory theses against Russia sounded from Wallace before. So, last year, as the king’s security minister, Wallace stated in an interview with Sky News that Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly “directly or indirectly” bears “great responsibility” for the poisoning in Salisbury. However, Moscow has repeatedly categorically denied any involvement in the incident, and Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the so-called Skripale case is used by London to justify anti-Russian policies.

At the same time, experts believe that the theme of the “Russian threat” and the Skripals case in particular were used earlier and continue to be used in order to distract the British people from internal problems associated with brexitis. Natalya Yeryomina, a professor at the Department of European Studies at the Faculty of International Relations at St. Petersburg State University, said in an interview with RT that the scandal surrounding the poisoning of former GRU colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia “happened by chance at the peak of the Brexit discussions,” when the public was “extremely excited”.

“The British authorities needed a resonant news story related to the“ Russian threat ”so that the topic of Britain’s exit from the EU would not be so intensified in the media,” the expert said.

Recall, on October 28, the European Union provided London with another delay in Brexit - until January 31, 2020, in order to come to a final decision regarding the conditions for Britain to exit the EU.

In September, the British government, at the request of parliamentarians, published the worst case scenario of Brexit without a deal. The document notes that as a result of the "increase in food and fuel prices" because of the "hard" withdrawal of the kingdom from the union "to a disproportionate extent" low-income groups will suffer. In addition, Britain’s exit from the EU will entail serious problems in the transport and trade system. In addition, "the growth of public unrest and tension in society."

• Reuters
• © Hannah McKay

“Today, the problem of brexitis has again worsened, the public in connection with the election campaign again began to raise this issue and discuss it, because of which clashes begin in society. Now in the UK they considered it a convenient moment to activate the topic of “Russian intervention” and thereby explain the failures in domestic politics. If someone doesn’t like the results of Brexit, you can always say that the interference of Russia is the fault, ”Eryomina emphasized.

A similar opinion is shared by Kira Godovanyuk, senior researcher at the Center for British Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“Statements about the alleged“ Russian threat ”begin to appear more actively in the British information field precisely at the moments when the election campaign is taking place in the country. This is necessary for London to switch public attention from internal problems, including around Brexit, to external “threats” and factors that, according to the British leadership, help mobilize the electorate, ”the expert noted in a conversation with RT.

At the same time, according to Godovanyuk, such statements have a foreign policy explanation - “the anti-Russian card is actively played” by Britain, including to “strengthen its status” within the framework of the North Atlantic Alliance.

“NATO will host a jubilee NATO summit in London in early December, so the words about the Russian threat and aggression, as well as the need to give a joint decisive rebuff are also an appeal to the bloc’s allies to unite against Russia. In a sense, this is an application for leadership in NATO - the UK has always claimed a special role in the North Atlantic Alliance, ”Godovanyuk explained.

“Convenient fake”

According to analysts, recently the number of anti-Russian statements by senior British military has increased.

So, in early November, the head of the British Armed Forces, General Nick Carter, said that "with her recklessness, Russia could accidentally unleash a third world war." The military published an article with the same name in The Telegraph.

“Ambitious countries like Russia, China and Iran are asserting themselves in ways that are a problem for our security, stability and prosperity,” Carter says.

A few days after publication, the Russian embassy in London sent a note to the British Foreign Ministry, calling the words of the chief of the United Kingdom Defense Staff "flawed and reckless."

The embassy’s message on the agency’s official website emphasizes that General Carter deliberately tried to create the impression “with the readers that the policy pursued by Russia could lead to an armed confrontation with Great Britain”.

“They (Carter’s statements. - RT ) are another manifestation of a consistent line of certain forces to cultivate in Great Britain the image of Russia as a hostile state,” the Russian Embassy noted.

In addition, the diplomatic department reminded that "Russia has always been and remains ready for a professional, mutually respectful discussion of any security issues of concern to the UK."

“The resumption of individual contacts between the General Staffs and National Security Councils is a confirmation of this,” the message says.

Earlier, at the end of September, a spokeswoman for the Russian embassy in the UK said the British military was coming up with non-existent threats for the sake of budget development.

“The purpose of such speeches is clear. There are no real military threats, but defense structures need to justify their existence, active participation in political life and in budget utilization, ”the statement of the press secretary on the embassy’s website says.

• Head of the Armed Forces of Great Britain General Nick Carter
• Reuters
• © Jeff Overs / BBC

Analysts agree that the British military is really intentionally engaged in “escalating anti-Russian hysteria” in order to “justify the need to increase defense spending”.

“Discussions about raising defense spending have been in the UK for quite some time. In this context, there is a constant exaggeration of the story of the “Russian threat,” Kira Godovanyuk believes.

Natalya Eryomina, in turn, recalls that the British army faces a serious task of re-equipment.

“At the same time, the British Ministry of Defense wants to receive money not only for new weapons, but also for the modernization of the existing one and the construction of ships and submarines. And anti-Russian rhetoric allows military personnel of high rank to tell the authorities that additional funds from the budget are needed, ”the expert says.

However, as Yeryomina emphasizes, "in the nature of the" Russian threat "does not exist."

“And this is completely understandable to those who make such accusations against Russia. Moreover, we can already talk about the established tradition of anti-Russian rhetoric of the British high-ranking military and other representatives of the establishment of the kingdom, ”said the analyst.

According to Godovanyuk, the “Russian threat” is a “convenient fake” that is played out to achieve specific political goals.

“The UK is distracted by far-fetched pseudo-threats from the Russian Federation instead of working on solving real problems of international security, including terrorism,” the expert summed up.