German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Saturday, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, warned that European countries and the NATO alliance should prepare for a conflict with Russia that will last a decade, reports dpa, cited by Agerpres.

Boris Pistorius told the participants of the Munich conference that attempts to include Russia in the wider European security architecture after the Cold War have failed.

“All these attempts contradicted the Kremlin’s strategy to restore its dominance in Central and Eastern Europe,” he said.

Western allies will firmly support Ukraine “no matter how long (Russian President Vladimir) Putin continues this illegal and senseless war against a sovereign and freedom-loving nation,” Pistorius said.

But it also means that “we will have to live with demarcation lines in Europe for decades to come,” the German defense minister said. “Free and democratic Europe on the one hand, militant and authoritarian Russia on the other,” he added.

The key to the conflict, Pistorius said, is rebuilding NATO’s military power in Europe to counter the Russian threat.

“Effective deterrence is our life insurance,” he continued, arguing that there are three dimensions to building an effective deterrence system: The alliance must invest more money in defense, rebuild its industrial capacity to produce munitions, and prepare the military for deployment. and fight when necessary.

Pistorius also noted that in order to counter Russia’s global influence, closer cooperation with the countries of the southern hemisphere and greater respect for these countries are necessary, reports dpa.