'Russia poses bigger threat to UK than IS'
Russia "indisputably" now poses a bigger threat to Britain's security than terrorist groups like Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda, the head of the British army said in an interview published yesterday.
General Mark Carleton-Smith warned Moscow had shown a willingness to use its military to pursue its national interests while seeking to "exploit Western vulnerabilities".
"Russia today indisputably represents a far greater threat to our national security than Islamic extremist threats such as Al-Qaeda and (IS)," he told The Daily Telegraph.
"Russia has embarked on a systematic effort to explore and exploit Western vulnerabilities, particularly in some of the non-traditional areas of cyber, space, undersea warfare."
Relations between Russia and Britain have sunk to historic lows this year after a nerve gas attack which London has squarely blamed on Moscow.
The incident prompted a wave of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions between Moscow and the West, as well as a ratcheting up of US sanctions.
Carleton-Smith, 54, said following IS battlefield loses in Syria and Iraq, the Western alliance must switch focus to the threat posed by Russia -- and do so through Nato.
Carleton-Smith also took the opportunity to downplay the need for a separate European army, as recently encouraged by French President Emmanuel Macron.
"I would not support any initiative that diluted the military effectiveness of Nato," he said.
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