…So I am confident that the United States will continue to honour its commitments and to be present in Europe and be committed to the transatlantic partnership.
But at the same time I believe that it is important that we talk to the Russians. Dialogue is even more important when tensions run high as now. Then it’s even more crucial that we sit together, talk and try to de-escalate the situation and again strive for a more constructive partnership, constructive relationship with Russia.
dpa: Looking forward to 2017: Who will be the greatest security threat for the alliance: Russia or international terrorism?
Stoltenberg: It’s a very different challenge. Russia is a state, Russia is our neighbour, Russia does not pose any immediate threat against any NATO ally. We strive for a more constructive relationship with Russia. Russia is there to stay. And we try to de-escalate, we work for dialogue and de-escalation of all the tensions. [Islamic State] is completely different. That’s a criminal organization. It’s responsible for several terrorist attacks against NATO capitals. There is a permanent risk for new terrorist attacks. The terrorist attack in Berlin is a brutal reminder that we live in open and liberal societies, where we cannot defend ourselves 100 per cent against all attacks from those who are ready to use any means to inflict suffering. That’s a risk we live with, and we will also have to live with it in 2017. The aim is to crush [Islamic State] and to destroy them. For this reason it does not give any meaning to compare. Läs intervjun