BRUSSELS: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday backed a “proportionate” British response to a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy, saying the incident must have “consequences.”
Stoltenberg said the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, which he called the first offensive use of a nerve agent on the alliance’s territory since its foundation, came against the “backdrop of a pattern of reckless behavior” by Russia.
He said he would hold special talks with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in Brussels on Monday over the attack in the city of Salisbury, but added that Britain had not invoked the alliance’s Article 5 mutual defense clause.
British Prime Minister Theresa May ordered the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats and suspended some high-level contacts with the Kremlin after saying Moscow was “culpable” for the attempted murder of Skripal.
“Britain is not alone,” Stoltenberg told a news conference as he launched NATO’s annual reports.
“I am absolutely certain that the UK will respond and is responding in a proportionate and measured way. But at the same time, I fully support that there is a need for a response, because it has to have consequences when we see actions like we have seen in Salisbury.”
The former Norwegian premier said NATO itself was not taking any direct steps beyond offering political support, although it would offer “practical support” with the investigation if Britain wanted.
He said NATO was already responding strongly to years of Russian aggression including the annexation of Crimea, the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and meddling in western elections.
“The attack in Salisbury has taken place against a backdrop of reckless behavior by Russia over many years,” he said.
Stoltenberg said Britain had not asked for the triggering of NATO’s fundamental collective defense clause — which the United States used after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
“There has been no request for article 5 and it is for nations to ask for that,” he said.
NATO chief says spy attack must have ‘consequences’ for Russia
NATO chief says spy attack must have ‘consequences’ for Russia
Three Afghan migrants die of cold while trying to cross into Iran
- More than 1.8 million Afghans were forced to return to Afghanistan by the Iranian authorities between January and the end of November 2025
AFGHANISTAN: Three Afghans died from exposure in freezing temperatures in the western province of Herat while trying to illegally enter Iran, a local army official said on Saturday.
“Three people who wanted to illegally cross the Iran-Afghanistan border have died because of the cold weather,” the Afghan army official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
He added that a shepherd was also found dead in the mountainous area of Kohsan from the cold.
The migrants were part of a group that attempted to cross into Iran on Wednesday and was stopped by Afghan border forces.
“Searches took place on Wednesday night, but the bodies were only found on Thursday,” the army official said.
More than 1.8 million Afghans were forced to return to Afghanistan by the Iranian authorities between January and the end of November 2025, according to the latest figures from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), which said that the majority were “forced and coerced returns.”
“These mass returns in adverse circumstances have strained Afghanistan’s already overstretched resources and services” which leads to “risks of onward and new displacement, including return movements back into Pakistan and Iran and onward,” UNHCR posted on its site dedicated to Afghanistan’s situation.
This week, Amnesty International called on countries to stop forcibly returning people to Afghanistan, citing a “real risk of serious harm for returnees.”
Hit by two major earthquakes in recent months and highly vulnerable to climate change, Afghanistan faces multiple challenges.
It is subject to international sanctions particularly due to the exclusion of women from many jobs and public places, described by the UN as “gender apartheid.”
More than 17 million people in the country are facing acute food insecurity, the UN World Food Programme said Tuesday.
