The US ambassador to Nato has restated the alliance's vow not to become involved in the war in Ukraine, saying that the alliance must counter the worldwide impact of Russian claims that it is fighting the West on the battlefield.
Julianne Smith welcomed the imminent publication of Germany's first national security strategy, which will not only make national defence but also the defence of the entire Nato space a priority.
The importance of strengthening Nato has taken centre stage in Europe, with the start of the Ukraine war in February reviving fears of Russian aggression.
“What we've applauded is for Germany to support the alliance and develop its own policies to make the necessary investments to deliver on [our] promises,” the career security specialist told the Berlin Foreign Policy conference in the German capital.
The war in Ukraine has reshaped the Nato commitment of many European nations, not least of all Germany, which has committed to a Zeitenwende, or historic shift, in foreign and security policy, with a €100 billion defence spending uplift.
Ms Smith said it was important to see the influence of this throughout Nato, even as the 30-member group declines to engage directly in the Ukraine conflict.
“The one thing we've agreed throughout this entire war as allies is that we will not allow Nato to be a party to this conflict,” she said. “I've seen no cracks in unity as it relates to that policy.
“What is unfortunate is that Russians have been so successful putting forward a whole series of false narratives as it relates to Nato's role on the ground.”
The ambassador said Moscow would “love nothing more” than to point to Nato forces on the ground in Ukraine and that the alliance must do more to dispel these suggestions.
She said countries around the world were asking questions that reflected the influence of Russian propaganda.
“We have to ensure that friends and partners around the world understand that,” Ms Smith said. “We've got to get out in the world to have a broader set of conversations with other countries that may be asking whether or not those Russian falsehoods have any relevance or truth.”
A poll conducted by Berlin Forum organiser Koerber Foundation found that 60 per cent of Germans favoured permanently higher defence spending, while 72 per cent saw Russia as a military threat to Germany's security.
A total of 60 per cent of respondents believe that not enough is being done in Europe to become independent of Russian energy supplies.
At the same time, 68 per cent did not want to have Germany take a leading military role in Europe. Four in five Germans feared the war would spread to Nato territory and 69 per cent of those polled were worried about a Russian nuclear strike.
Addressing the security conference by video link, Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato Secretary General, spoke in detail about the threat of the Ukraine conflict involving nuclear weapons.
"The risk of any nuclear attack against Ukraine is low," he said. "But the potential impact, the consequence is so big we have to take this seriously.
"We will never go into the exact way we will respond because that will depend on the kind of attack, the circumstances, the context but also we will never give a potential adversary the privilege of knowing how we would respond. We need to distinguish between the use of weapons of mass destruction or nuclear weapons in Ukraine and any attack on a Nato ally."
Mr Stoltenberg added the answer to an escalation of drone attacks on the Ukraine capital and elsewhere in the country was for the allies to step up their deliveries of air defence systems to Kyiv.
"The most important thing we can do is deliver on what allies have promised, to step up and deliver even more air defence systems," he said.
"Nato will in the coming days deliver counter-drone systems to counter the specific threat of drones, including those from Iran."
