The head of NATO said that the Alliance stands ready to respond to “Russian cyber attacks”
NATO countries can use the provisions of the fifth article of the NATO Charter in case of cyber attacks from Russia, said the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an interview with Axios.
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This article implies that an armed attack against one or more NATO countries be considered an attack on the entire Alliance, and the affected countries have the right to collective defense.
In response to the question of whether “the Russian cyber attack on a member of NATO lead to the imposition of the fifth article,” Mr. Stoltenberg said: “Not automatically. It depends on the nature of cyber attacks.”
He explained that a few years ago, NATO decided that the fifth article can be used in case of hacker attacks, but the conditions under which it is possible to apply this article, the Alliance did not specify.
“I think we should not give this advantage to any potential enemy,” — said the head of the Alliance.
Jens Stoltenberg added that NATO “is not trying to isolate Russia”. “We really believe in the dialogue with Russia, and we think it’s important to her to speak,” he said.
Representatives of the U.S. intelligence has repeatedly accused Russia of meddling in electoral processes in the United States. In August, “Kommersant” it became known that Moscow suggested Washington’s cooperation in preventing cyber attacks on critical infrastructure (power stations, control systems water supply and transport, hospitals, banks, etc.). Russia has offered the United States to make a point about the inadmissibility of “destabilizing actions against domestic political processes, including elections.” The US, however, from these initiatives, refused.