Exclusive: Russia’s aggression against its neighbours and the West 'risks a new Cold War'

Russia's aggression towards its neighbours and the West risks a new Cold War, Nato's Secretary-General has warned.

In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph following the disclosure that Russia's opposition leader had been poisoned with Novichok, Jens Stoltenberg warned that Moscow's behaviour and attempt to establish a new "sphere of influence ... requires a response from Nato".

"We don't want a new Cold War, we don't want a new arms race, but at the same time we have to make sure that we are adapting as the world is changing," Mr Stoltenberg said. "So we are responding to what Russia is doing."

Mr Stoltenberg first learned of the probability that Alexei Navalny had been poisoned with a chemical weapon in a private briefing with Angela Merkel a week before the German Chancellor announced the findings to the world.

To the leader of the world's largest military alliance, the attack represented yet another alarming use of poison against a Russian dissident - following the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko in London and the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.

"What matters now is that Russia has to answer some very serious questions," Mr Stoltenberg told The Telegraph.

"How can this happen and how can we see again and again that opposition leaders in Russia are attacked and their lives threatened and some actually killed?

"This is not the first time we've seen the use of poison against people who are in opposition to the Russian regime. That makes it even more serious."

He said the poisoning, of course, was an attack on Mr Navalny, 44, "as an individual", and "we all wish [him] a speedy recovery"... "but it is also an attack on fundamental democratic rights, the right to be in opposition, the right to be an outspoken critic of the regime."

Novichok attackers 'must be held accountable'

While the attack took place in Russia rather than a Nato member state, Mr Stoltenberg -  who served two terms as Norwegian prime minister - said the use of Novichok represented a breach of international law and "requires an international response".

It is a breach that previously occurred in Salisbury more than two years ago, when Mr Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer, was targeted by officers of the GRU, the Russian ministry of defence’s intelligence and special forces arm.

The nerve agent attack led to the expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats from Europe and the US and fresh sanctions on the regime. For Nato countries, a second Novichok poisoning in as many years raises the question of whether, or, indeed, when, another could follow - and whether the substance could yet again be transported outside of Russia.

Perhaps it is partly with this in mind that Mr Stoltenberg is insisting that Russia must now provide "complete disclosure" of its Novichok programme to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He said that those responsible for the attack "have to be held accountable", adding: "And that's exactly what we are clearly conveying to Russian authorities."

But the men accused of assassinating Mr Litvinenko and carrying out the Salisbury attack have never been brought to trial as a result of Russia's refusal to extradite its citizens. Pressed on the resulting lack of accountability of those suspected of the Litvinenko and Skripal poisonings, Mr Stoltenberg acknowledged that the rule of law does not "stand as strong as we would like to see in Russia".

But he insisted: "Nato is built on some core values, which includes the rule of law, respect for fundamental democratic rights. So therefore, we will continue to call on Russia, we will continue to be very clear on our message that the right for opposition politicians to be in a position to criticise the regime has to be protected and those who do so have to be safe."

Nato countries will now "coordinate the way forward" in response to the attack, but "it's a bit early to say anything more".

'We don't want a new arms race'

Much of Nato's work is focused on responding to Russia's aggression towards its neighbours and Moscow's development of new military capabilities, including new missiles, some of which are designed to reach satellites in orbit. (This video below from 2018 shows some of the missiles promised by Vladimir Putin)

In a recent speech to launch Nato 2030, the alliance's blueprint for the next decade, Russia's military activities topped Mr Stoltenberg's list of existing "tensions" faced by members of the alliance. It has recently embarked on a major programme to counter Russian disinformation.

Asked whether he feared another Cold War, Mr Stoltenberg said: "This is a different situation, particularly because during the Cold War we had two military blocs confronting each other, Europe was divided, Germany was divided ... it's not the same kind of ideological confrontation." But he added: "At the same time, we see a Russia which is responsible for aggressive actions against neighbours, a Russia which is trying to reestablish some kind of sphere of influence.

"We have seen that in Georgia, in Moldova, in Ukraine, and that requires a response from Nato. And that's exactly why we now are implementing the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence since the end of the Cold War ... After years of cutting defence spending, all Nato allies are now increasing defence spending and we are modernising our armed forces. So Nato is responding in a defensive, proportionate way.

"We don't want a new Cold War, we don't want a new arms race, but at the same time we have to make sure that we are adapting as the world is changing. So we are responding to what Russia is doing."

In the UK, Nicola Sturgeon's SNP has campaigned on a pledge to scrap Trident, the UK's nuclear deterrent, which the party insists makes the world "more dangerous". Mr Stoltenberg warned: "The UK is a staunch and very important Nato ally. The UK has the second largest defence budget in the alliance, just next to the United States and the UK is a nuclear power and the UK nuclear capabilities are important as part of Nato's nuclear deterrence."

Last week a row erupted over reports that Rishi Sunak was seeking to divert billions of pounds from the foreign aid budget to help fund Britain's intelligence and defence capabilities. Mr Stoltenberg points out that investment in defence can help lead to economic development in countries that benefit from aid spending.

"I believe that defence spending can assist countries in making them safe and secure and peace is a precondition for economic development.

"We need stability, we need peace, to help economic development, to alleviate poverty ... They are two sides of the same coin but they are two different things. To provide vaccines or development aid is one thing, to help provide security is another thing, but the end result is better living conditions for people in the country."

Helping to stabilise countries such as Afghanistan is "also in our interest because if they are more stable, we are more secure".