During this week’s summit in Madrid NATO will agree to significantly expand its presence on the eastern flank, Estonian ERR reports, referencing announcement from Financial Times.
Western allies will pledge armed forces, ships and aircraft into «new structures» that will be possible to be deployed quickly on the eastern flank, the newspaper reported after an interview with NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.
An agreement on the alliance’s new strategy will be reached at the summit in Madrid. This new strategy will detail goals for the next decade. The newspaper wrote that NATO plans to dramatically improve eastern flank’s defence, focusing on deterring all kinds of attacks and expanding defence to the entire territory of the alliance.
As for the comments from Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas that under the alliance’s current plans Estonia could be «wiped off the map», Stoltenberg said he intends to discuss this topic with all three Baltic States.
«I accept [Kallas] wants more NATO presence and I can promise her [. . .] more presence.»
Stoltenberg said: «Our main responsibility is to prevent any attack on Estonia or any other ally».
The alliance will «significantly reinforce» its defence of Eastern Europe, he said, promising that in the event of Russia’s invasion Tallinn will not be taken.
NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence director Jānis Sārts stresses that Baltic States need larger reinforcements from other countries, but the situation is not dramatic just yet.
He also said the objective behind deployment of NATO forces is deterring Russia from attacking.
Estonia has submitted to NATO a joint proposal together with Latvia and Lithuania to establish division command structures in each country, deploy additional forces and provide additional arms supplies.
A division is the smallest possible unit that can guarantee compatibility of all types of forces – infantry, navy and air force, Estonian Ministry of Defence told ERR.
Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine means Baltic States no longer want deterrence – only «preventive defence».
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