US defence secretary warns Moscow not to provoke NATO, says it’s ready to defend allies

The US Defence Secretary Ash Carter warned Moscow on Tuesday not to provoke the NATO alliance, saying the US is ready to defend its allies.

“We do not seek to make Russia an enemy. But make no mistake – we will defend our allies, the rules-based international order, and the positive future it affords us,” Carter said at the US military’s European Command in Stuttgart, Germany.

“We do not seek a cold, let alone a hot war with Russia,” Carter stressed.

The defence secretary said: “Moscow’s nuclear sabre-rattling raises troubling questions about Russia’s leaders’ commitment to strategic stability, their respect for norms against the use of nuclear weapons, and whether they respect the profound caution that nuclear-age leaders showed with regard to brandishing nuclear weapons.”

He added: “We’ll keep the door open for Russia. But it’s up to the Kremlin to decide.”