NATO members on Monday agreed on regional plans detailing how the alliance would respond to a possible Russian invasion. Earlier, approval of these plans was delayed by Turkey, Reuters reports.
The International News Agency notes that NATO did not see the need for large-scale defense plans for decades because it did not see a real threat in post-Soviet Russia.
However, now, against the backdrop of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the alliance has reconsidered its position and wants to make all the necessary plans before a conflict with such a powerful adversary as Russia breaks out. Turkey previously blocked the approval of these plans because their wording refers to geographical locations such as Cyprus.
Among other things, these regional plans provide guidance to participating countries on how to improve their armed forces and materiel.
“The need to finance these fundamental changes is one of the reasons why leaders plan to set the current target of 2% of the country’s GDP as the minimum requirement,” writes Reuters.
NATO officials estimate that the plans will take several years to fully implement, although they stress that the alliance can begin operations immediately if necessary.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg believes that a meaningful dialogue between the alliance and Russia is impossible due to the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He noted that NATO members tried to dissuade the Russian Federation from attacking Ukraine using “all diplomatic and political channels”, but that dialogue lost its meaning after the invasion.
On the eve of the NATO summit, which is taking place in Vilnius, the Kremlin once again said that Ukraine’s participation in the alliance allegedly threatens Russia itself. Earlier, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas stated that NATO expansion does not pose any threat to the Russian Federation itself, but threatens the Kremlin’s imperialist ambitions.
2023-07-11 05:39:27
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