Ukraine

NATO plans to bolster defences in east, says Sec-Gen Stoltenberg

Reading Time: < 1 minute

NATO leaders will formulate plans to bolster its eastern flank across Central and Eastern Europe at a summit in Madrid in June, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced.

Calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the “biggest security crisis in a generation”, Stoltenberg said “regardless of when, how, the war in Ukraine ends (it) has already had long-term consequences for our security”.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the Western defence alliance has sent an extra 40,000 troops to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, increasing its presence tenfold.

NATO needs to adapt to that new reality, and that’s exactly what we are doing,” he told UK conservative outlet The Daily Telegraph.

Noting Berlin’s recent commitment to increase its military expenditure from 1.5% to above 2% of GDP, Stoltenberg said his focus was “to ensure that those that are below 2% meet that minimum (NATO mandated) guideline.”

Following the “serious wake-up call” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014, the Western defence alliance strengthened its borders on a scale unseen since the end of the Cold War, Stoltenberg said.

Source: The Telegraph

CET Editor

Recent Posts

Poland tops employment rankings – OECD report

The EU’s employment rate reached a record high of 70.9% in the fourth quarter of…

12 hours ago

Greece plans to repay Eurozone’s bailout loans whole decade in advance

Greece has announced plans to repay its first bailout loans a decade ahead of schedule,…

12 hours ago

CEE economies tougher than you may think – ING

Despite their export-driven economies and strong manufacturing bases, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries may…

12 hours ago

Slovenia mulls French, US bids for nuclear project

Slovenia is at the centre of a strategic struggle between France and the US, as…

12 hours ago

Single market is not single, and it’s costing us all

The EU’s internal market is still falling short of its founding promise. Despite decades of…

4 days ago

Foot-and-mouth sees culls, CEE border closures

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has prompted mass animal culls and tightened border controls…

1 week ago