NATO’s new Strategic Concept will take into account the challenges and concerns that the Alliance faces today, including those related to Russia and terrorism. This was announced on December 1 by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
“The last time we – NATO – created the Strategic Concept was in 2010, and the world looked very different then. Russia was mentioned as a partner, China was not mentioned. And all kinds of new challenges, new threats, especially in cyberspace, hybrid conflicts, space – none of this was part of it, because it was a different world, ”he said in an interview with Latvian TV.
The head of the State Department noted that the new strategic concept, which NATO allies agreed to complete by the next summit of the alliance in Spain in the spring, will reflect the problems that the countries are facing today, and not 10 years ago.
“However, Russia remains at the center of our concerns, as does terrorism. And I think our fundamental foundation is to provide powerful protection and deterrence, and the ability to participate in the proper management of conflicts, while strengthening partnerships with other countries in different parts of the world. This remains the foundation, ”Blinken added.
Earlier in the day, he said that NATO has no aggressive intentions towards Russia and does not pose a threat to it. He stressed that the North Atlantic Alliance is a defensive organization.
At the same time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the countries belonging to the military bloc could impose new sanctions against Russia in the event of the use of force in Ukraine. At the same time, he stressed that the principle of collective security applies only to the NATO countries, while the partners of the organization, for example Kiev, can only count on the support of the alliance.
Earlier, on November 30, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that “significant units and military equipment of NATO countries, including American and British, are being deployed closer to our borders.” He noted that more and more forces and means are accumulating on the line of contact in Donbass with the support of an increasing number of Western instructors.