At the beginning of the virtual summit of the heads of state and government of the 30 NATO members, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg accused Russia of “shattering the peace on the European continent”. The Alliance condemns the Russian aggression “in the strongest possible terms” and stands by “the brave Ukrainians,” said Stoltenberg, who scheduled the video conference to meet with US President Joe Biden, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the other top politicians on the long-term consequences of the “brutal” actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But there were also decisions with immediate effect: To deter Russia, the Alliance is relocating units of its rapid deployment force, the Nato Response Force (NRF) – for the first time in its existence. Stoltenberg did not say on Friday evening where these troops should be relocated to. He only spoke to journalists about several thousand soldiers who should be deployed on land, at sea and in the air. The dpa news agency reports on internal considerations to send ground troops to Romania, south-west of Ukraine. The people there are more positive about NATO than people in Hungary or Slovakia, which also border Ukraine.
On Thursday, right after the Russian attack on Ukraine, the 30 member states decided to activate their defense plans for the eastern flank for the first time. As a result, since Thursday US General Tod Wolters, the supreme commander of the NATO armed forces, has been able to move the troops more quickly and without consulting the ambassadors of the member states. The NRF includes 40,000 troops; From 2022 to 2024, the Bundeswehr will provide around 13,600 men and women. However, support for Ukraine by sending NATO soldiers is still ruled out.
The leaders also adopted a statement emphasizing their commitment to collective defence. It says literally: “Our commitment to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty is unwavering. We stand together to protect and defend all allies.” It also pledges to “take all necessary measures and decisions to ensure the security and defense of all allies”. All measures are “preventive, proportionate and non-escalating”.
The statement also accuses Moscow of a “blatant rejection of the principles enshrined in the NATO-Russia Founding Act.” The 1997 document states, among other things, that NATO and Russia do not see each other as “enemies” and prohibits NATO from stationing missile systems, heavy military equipment and large troop formations in Eastern Europe. Stoltenberg did not want to answer the question of whether the agreement was now “obsolete”. However, he pointed out that following the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia had violated the principles of the Founding Act for the second time. “If only one partner keeps an agreement, then it doesn’t work,” said the Secretary-General.
Before the video summit, several countries had announced that they would move additional troops and military equipment to Eastern and Southeastern Europe. So the US flies 7,000 more soldiers across the Atlantic. The Pentagon announced that they would initially be stationed in Germany. The US military is the most powerful in the world and forms the backbone of the defense alliance.
Sweden and Finland were also invited
Italy provides 3,400 additional soldiers. As of Thursday, the Air Force had three more Eurofighter– Fighter jets relocated to Romania to monitor the airspace there with Italy. In addition, a Navy reconnaissance boat is scheduled to sail into the Baltic Sea. To the mirror According to the Bundeswehr would also like to offer an infantry company consisting of about 150 soldiers with a good dozen boxer-Radpanzern insists on moving to Romania. This is to happen when France has taken over the leadership of a multinational task force there. After the special EU summit on Friday morning, President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would send additional soldiers to Estonia.
In the Federal Armed Forces it is also considered conceivable to enter the Baltic States patriot-Offer anti-aircraft missile system. NATO missions in the North Sea and Baltic Sea could each be supported with a corvette and a frigate, according to mirror However, these warships would have to be withdrawn from other missions in the Mediterranean.
Denmark will send 200 more soldiers to Estonia to reinforce the multinational task force of NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) program. In addition, two fighter jets of the type F-16 help with, to monitor the airspace over Poland. On Thursday evening, the parliament in Copenhagen gave the go-ahead for the government’s plan to extend NATO to 20 F-16– Offer aircraft. There is also a frigate including a helicopter, a transport aircraft and other military personnel.
In order to emphasize the unity of the West, Stoltenberg also invited the heads of state and government from Sweden and Finland. Their countries work very closely with NATO without belonging to it. Also connected were the Presidents of the EU Commission and the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel.