NATO countries demonstrated unity towards Russia | News from Germany on world events

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned of the “real” risk of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The risk of conflict is real,” he said Friday, January 7, after a video conference with NATO foreign ministers. “Russia’s aggressive actions seriously undermine security rules in Europe,” Stoltenberg added.

The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance noted that NATO is ready to discuss arms control with Russia, but does not intend to introduce unilateral restrictions. According to him, the alliance should not find itself in a situation in which NATO would have “second-rate” members whom it would not be allowed to defend.

NATO will “engage in a sincere and principled dialogue” with Russia, but “we must be prepared for the possibility of diplomatic failure,” Stoltenberg continued.

“Ukraine has the right to protection”

During the session, the foreign ministers of the NATO countries “reaffirmed their unity in response to the Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the secretary general said. Commenting on Russia’s demand that Ukraine not be admitted to the alliance, he noted the inadmissibility of Russia setting unilateral conditions to NATO. “Ukraine is a sovereign, independent country and has the right to protection,” Stoltenberg said.

Ahead of the NATO-Russia Council, alliance members have stressed the need for diplomacy, dialogue and de-escalation, the US NATO mission said on Twitter.

Meeting of the NATO-Russia Council

On January 12, for the first time in two and a half years, a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council will be held at the level of ambassadors. The alliance believes that Moscow is deliberately aggravating the situation on the borders with Ukraine so that the threat of a possible invasion spurred NATO to make concessions.

Russia demands that NATO abandon military activity on the territory of the former post-Soviet states and further expand to the east, in particular, from plans to admit Ukraine to the alliance.

See also:

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces
“Iron sword” in Lithuania
In Lithuania, until December 2, 2016, NATO forces’ Iron Sword military exercises are being held, in which, in addition to Lithuanian servicemen, soldiers from Germany, the USA, Great Britain and Poland are taking part. An additional battalion of NATO forces will be deployed in Lithuania. In the photo: military exercises of NATO soldiers, which took place in the Lithuanian town of Rukla this fall.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces
Russia strengthens its position in the Baltic
The grouping of troops in the Kaliningrad Special Region in 2016 was reinforced by a battalion of the Bastion coastal missile system. New missile systems came into service with the Baltic Fleet in 2016, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Photo: summer exercises of the Russian army in the Baltic

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces
Build strength on both sides
This infographic shows that there is a military build-up on both sides. Russia on its western borders is forming three new divisions with a total strength of up to 30 thousand servicemen. NATO is sending four battalions to the Baltic states and Poland, each with a thousand soldiers.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces
NATO installs missile defense system in Europe
In 2016, the Aegis ground-based anti-missile defense base was launched in Romania. There is a similar station in Poland. Together with a number of other ground targets, as well as a group of destroyers, the Romanian base is an integral part of the program for building a European phased adaptive missile defense (ABM) system. Russia believes that the missile defense system is directed against it.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces
Iskander in Kaliningrad
Meanwhile, Russia continues to strengthen the Kaliningrad region. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that it was realizing its intention to deploy Iskander-M missile systems in the western exclave. According to the Ministry of Defense, they are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 500 km, Iskander missiles can be equipped with two types of missiles – ballistic and cruise, and theoretically carry a nuclear warhead.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces
Latvia will spend on defense
In autumn, military exercises were held in various parts of Latvia, including the joint exercises of NATO troops “Silver Arrow”. Photo: Latvian Defense Minister Raimonds Bergmanis (center) and US servicemen after military exercises in the Latvian town of Adazi. Bergmanis can expect defense spending to rise by almost 100 million euros in 2017.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces
New divisions
For a long time after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the size of the Russian army was declining. But the announcement of the creation of new divisions, primarily near the Russian-Ukrainian border, could reverse this trend. Experts do not yet know how the Ministry of Defense is going to staff the new divisions with personnel. It is necessary to find about 30 thousand additional servicemen.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces
Major exercises in Poland
A major NATO military exercise called “Baltops” took place in the Baltic region this summer. They were attended by servicemen from 17 countries – over 6,000 soldiers in total. Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the bloc plans to transfer several hundred thousand soldiers to an enhanced regime of service in the member countries of the organization.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces
From howitzers to heavy bombers
Russia is actively testing and introducing new types of military equipment into service. These are Su-35S fighters, and Tor, Pantsir-S anti-aircraft missile systems, Verba MANPADS, Tornado-G multiple launch rocket systems and drones. Now the level of rearmament of the army, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, is 50 percent.

How NATO and Russia are building up their military forces
“We are not in a state of cold war with Russia”
In a recent interview with DW, Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO is not in a cold war with Russia, calling for a more moderate definition. The scale of the military build-up by both sides is, indeed, incomparably smaller than when the arms race between the USSR and NATO was in full swing, as this timetable from the GDR times reminds of.
Author: Mikhail Bushuev