British army chief warns of risk of accidental war with Russia

The risk of an accidental war breaking out between the Russia and the West is bigger than at any time during the Cold War, said the highest-ranking military officer in the United Kingdom in an interview with Times Radio.

“I just think we’re in a much more competitive world than we were 10 or 15 years ago. And I think the nature of competition between states and great powers leads to greater tensions. And I think that tension is the thing to watch out for,” General Nick Carter, head of the UK defense team, said in an interview due to air this Sunday (14), according to a press release sent to CNN.

General Carter compared the current situation to earlier times in his military career since 1978. “When you and I were growing up, it was a bipolar world. Two blocks: the Soviet Union and the West. So we entered a period where it was unipolar, and the USA they were totally prominent,” he told journalist Tom Newton Dunn.

“And I think now we’re in a period where it’s more multipolar, and I think in a multipolar world, with people competing for different goals and different agendas, there’s a greater risk of tension leading to the kinds of things we’re talking about.” said the general.

Carter warned politicians against triggering unnecessary escalation and to be “careful that people don’t end up allowing the bellicose nature of some of our policies to end up in a position where escalation leads to an incorrect calculation.”

“Many of the traditional diplomatic tools and mechanisms that you and I grew up with in the Cold War, they no longer exist. And without these tools and mechanisms, there is a greater risk that these escalations or escalations could lead to an incorrect calculation. I think this is the real challenge we have to face,” said the general.

Asked whether he believes Russia is involved in the border migration crisis between the European Union, Belarus and Russia, the general said he did not know, but that “nothing would surprise him”.

“Because I think the modern environment, and this shifting character of conflict and warfare that I’ve described, opens up possibilities for people to use all kinds of different tools, tactics and techniques to try to affect our cohesion,” he added.

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, denied any involvement in the border crisis, saying on Saturday (13) that his country “had nothing to do with it”.

“I want to say one more thing. I want everyone to know. We have absolutely nothing to do with it. Everyone is trying to impose responsibility on us for any reason and for no reason,” Putin said in an interview with the state news channel Russia 24.

*(Translated text. Click here to read the original, in English)