NATO’s latest plans for the defence of Baltic States will be more detailed and concrete than the current ones, as announced by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday, the 27th of April.
“NATO has plans in place to defend every inch of allied territory. We are updating plans so they can be more detailed and concrete and reflect on the new security reality,” Stoltenberg said in an interview to Lithuanian journalists.
He expects NATO member states will coordinate the new defence plans before the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius in July.
NATO secretary general said the plans are kept secret to avoid leaking operational details, but they will dictate the role of the forces stationed on the eastern flank, as well as ensure arrival of reinforcements from the west if need be.
Stoltengberg said once plans have been approved, certain countries will be ordered to develop their commitment fulfilment potential.
During press-conference the secretary general did not mention deployment of new forces in the Baltic Sea region even though countries of the region request it endlessly. He said significant numbers of NATO forces have already been deployed along NATO’s eastern flank.
Stoltenberg called Russia’s nuclear rhetoric, threatening to deploy tactical nuclear arms in Belarus, as “dangerous and irresponsible”.
At the same time, he stressed that the situation in the nuclear field does not require any specific reaction from NATO.
“So far we haven’t seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that warrants any changes in NATO’s nuclear posture,” said the alliance’s secretary general.
As for the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Stoltenberg said he expects allies to agree on the tightest commitment so far in regards to increasing defence spending to 2% of GDP. He also expects countries to continue supporting Ukraine.
“I expect, of course, that they [allies] will reiterate that Ukraine will become a member in the Alliance,” said Stoltenbergs.
He believes the alliance also needs to agree on practical support for Ukraine that would bring about a long-term plan for the development of the country’s army and compliance with NATO standards.
Currently what is most important to ensure Ukraine’s victory in the war is continued military support from the alliance, said the secretary general.
“Unless Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation in Europe, there is no membership issue to discuss,” said Stoltenberg.
NATO summit in Vilnius is expected on the 11th – 12th of July.
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