Brussels, (EFE).- The NATO Defense Ministers made progress this Friday in concretizing new regional plans that will reinforce deterrence and allied defense with the placing on maximum alert of more than 300,000 troops, and that they hope to see the light of day in the organization’s next summit in Lithuania in July.
“For the first time since the Cold War, we are fully connecting our collective defense planning with the planning of our forces, capabilities, and command and control,” Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference at the end of a two-day meeting of the ministers.
This was the last ministerial before the summit and was mainly focused on the preparations for the decisions that will come to light in Vilnius, including those that will shore up allied support for Ukraine so that it can continue to face the Russian invasion.
The new regional plans will depend on the three Allied headquarters of Norfolk (USA), Brunssum (Netherlands) and Naples (Italy), which geographically share the defense of the entire Alliance.
Command and control mechanisms
They will require an adaptation of NATO’s command and control mechanisms and a new force structure for the Alliance, which wants to keep 300,000 soldiers in high readiness backed by significant air and naval capabilities.
Stoltenberg also explained that they will develop a reinforced program of maneuvers and that they will be aimed at “defending every inch of allied territory against any threat.”
The Norwegian politician stressed that the ministers also agreed on a new rotation model for air and missile defense, which “will ensure that resources are used in the most effective way” and that “we can move smoothly from air surveillance to air defense ”.
They also reviewed the NATO Defense Production Action Plan that is expected to be approved in Vilnius, which includes concrete measures to increase the capacity of the transatlantic defense industry and increase interoperability.
The allies already have a joint purchase program underway -including 155mm ammunition requested by Ukraine- with an investment of 1,000 million dollars.
Another matter ministers agreed on was a substantial increase in the critical ammunition capacity targets they must maintain.
guarantee resources
“All these measures must be backed by adequate resources,” Stoltenberg warned.
In Vilnius, the allies have proposed to adopt a new defense spending commitment that sets at least 2% of their GDP.
“Our new commitment will also help us to strengthen our defense industrial bases, and to standardize critical munitions and improve NATO interoperability,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at another press conference.
In his view, “there is broad agreement that 2% of GDP investment should be a floor and not a ceiling,” he said, adding that even “there are many countries that are eager to go above 2%.”
Regarding those who are still far from that minimum, Austin asked them to make “concrete plans” to reach that figure.
Support for Ukraine
Stoltenberg also referred to Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia and stated that his forces “have intensified operations along the front line and are making progress.”
“But they face difficult terrain, entrenched Russian troops and fierce fighting,” he warned.
In this context, he stressed that it remains “crucial” to increase support for Ukraine and welcomed the commitments of the more than 50 countries in the Kiev support contact group that met on Thursday in Brussels.
The Norwegian politician pointed out that for the Vilnius summit they are working on a multi-year package with “substantial financing” for Ukraine, and that they hope on that occasion to hold the first NATO-Ukraine Council with its president, Volodimir Zelensky, a forum that will elevate their relations and will allow them to “decide on security issues on an equal footing”.
However, he made it clear that the possibility of inviting Ukraine to the Alliance will not be discussed, but “how we can bring Ukraine closer to NATO”.