According to the former NATO Secretary General, Russia is unpredictable and dangerous, because even in Soviet times the possible use of nuclear weapons was not openly discussed

Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Photo: Getty Images)

Russia poses a greater threat to the world than the USSR. This opinion was expressed in an interview with Newsweek by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

“Even in Soviet times, they did not dare to talk about a nuclear conflict. Now we see: this is being openly discussed. In this regard, Russia today is more dangerous than the Soviet Union. The USSR was more predictable than the current leadership,” he said.

According to Rasmussen, Russia behaves unpredictably in the conflict with the European Union and is trying to destabilize the countries of the union from within. “Russia has adopted tactics that combine traditional methods of combat with sophisticated propaganda and a disinformation campaign,” the ex-Secretary General is confident. Commenting on the recent visit of Greek Prime Minister Alex Tsipras to Moscow, Rasmussen noted that he was “playing with fire”, since Russia could not help Greece financially.

While the former alliance chief believes NATO "will remain the cornerstone of European security" for the foreseeable future, he added that there is a need for evolution. According to him, the West must strengthen the fight against hybrid threats and invest more in cybersecurity.

In early April, The Times wrote that Moscow was using the nuclear threat against the United States to force NATO to withdraw its forces from Russian borders. According to the publication, during a meeting between Russian and American former high-ranking security officials in March of this year in Germany, the Russian side allegedly stated that “President Vladimir Putin is ready for a forceful response in the event of a further increase in NATO troops in the Baltic countries.” The Kremlin called this publication “a classic example of the demonization of Russia.”

In the film “Crimea. Path to the Motherland,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said that after the events in Ukraine in the spring of 2014, Russia was ready to put its nuclear forces on combat readiness. “We were ready to do it,” he said.

In an interview with The Telegraph in February 2015, Rasmussen also said that Russia is trying to split NATO, and the Baltic states are primarily at risk. “Putin wants to return Russia to its former position as a great power,” he explained.

Former NATO Secretary General called Russia more dangerous than the USSR