NATO defense ministers: restarting deterrence | tagesschau.de

The NATO “peacekeeping” mission in Ukraine proposed by Poland will not exist – the NATO defense ministers made that clear today. But you want to massively strengthen the eastern flank of the alliance.

NATO rejects the “peacekeeping mission” for Ukraine proposed by Poland on Tuesday. This was announced by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after a special meeting of the alliance’s defense ministers. Allies agree that NATO should not send any land or air forces to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said.

Several states, including Germany, had previously rejected the Polish initiative. Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, among others, warned of the “uncontrollable consequences” and a “widespread” that a NATO mission could entail.

Significantly stronger east flank

However, one wants to significantly expand the capacities for military deterrence of Russia. To this end, a permanent increase in NATO troops on the so-called eastern flank of the alliance is now being examined, explained Stoltenberg. “Considerably more troops in the eastern part of the alliance with greater readiness” are needed. In addition, the Alliance’s air and naval forces, as well as its space and cyber defense capabilities, need to be strengthened. The military have been commissioned to draw up plans for this now. At the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June, the plans could then be discussed and approved by the heads of state and government.

It is unclear how massive the increase in troops should be. The media report that there is already a position paper on this. Its content should initially be kept secret. However, several diplomats told the dpa news agency that, from a Russian perspective, the proposals will probably violate the NATO-Russia file. However, after the attack on Ukraine, Moscow cannot expect the alliance to stick to all the agreements in the file.

Germany still needs to talk

Germany was basically open to a long-term increase in troops in the east. However, the scope still has to be discussed, said Defense Minister Lambrecht. “We still have to talk very carefully about whether this magnitude is actually necessary,” said the minister after the NATO meeting.

But you have to be prepared, the minister continued. So far there are “no indications that the Alliance’s territory is being attacked”, but this cannot be completely ruled out.