BRUSSELS – NATO allies will decide at a summit this week to increase the strength of its rapid reaction force nearly eightfold to 300,000 troops as part of its response to an “era of strategic competition,” it said Monday the general secretary of the military alliance.
The NATO Response Force (NRF) currently has about 40,000 troops that can be deployed quickly when needed.
Along with other measures, such as the deployment of forces to defend specific allies, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the measure is part of the “greatest review of collective defense and deterrence since of the Cold War “.
“These troops will exercise alongside the local defense forces,” Stoltenberg said. “And they will become familiar with the local terrain, the facilities and our new prepositioned stocks. So that they can respond smoothly and quickly to any emergency.”
In response to the Kremlin’s decision to start the war, US President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts agreed in February to send thousands of troops, with air and naval support, to protect allies near Russia and Ukraine. The 30-nation organization then decided to send parts of the NRF and elements of a rapidly deployable spearhead unit to the eastern flank of the alliance, marking the first time the force had been used in a defensive role.
Stoltenberg made the remarks at a press conference ahead of a NATO summit this week in Madrid, when the 30 allies are also expected to agree more support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Stoltenberg said he hopes the Allies will make it clear that they see Russia “as the most important and direct threat to our security.” At the summit, the Allies will also decide to strengthen their battle groups on NATO’s eastern flanks, he said.
In the new NATO strategic concept, the alliance will also address for the first time the security challenges posed by China, Stoltenberg said. In Madrid, the Allies will discuss how to respond to the growing influence of Russia and China in their “southern neighborhood,” he added.
Stoltenberg said the Allies will agree to offer more military support to Ukraine when they meet in Spain, and NATO members are ready to adopt a “reinforced comprehensive assistance package,” which includes the delivery of secure communication systems and antidrons.
In the long run, Stoltenberg said the Allies aim to help Ukraine in the transition from Soviet-era weapons to modern NATO equipment. The world’s seven major economic powers on Monday stressed their commitment to Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”
Another central theme of the NATO summit will be the possibility of Finland and Sweden joining the alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey, a member of NATO, has so far blocked the requests, citing what it considers to be the two countries ‘soft approach to organizations Turkey considers terrorists, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK.
Stoltenberg said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson have agreed to meet on Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit.
Officials from the three countries have intensified talks ahead of the NATO meeting to try to break the deadlock.
“My great hope is that this dialogue can be successful and conclude in the near future, ideally before the summit,” Andersson said after talks with Stoltenberg in Brussels.
Turkey calls on Sweden and Finland to grant extradition requests for people wanted by Turkish authorities. Ankara claims the countries are hosting PKK members and people it says are linked to a failed 2016 coup.
Turkey also wants guarantees that the arms restrictions imposed by the two countries for Turkey’s military incursion in 2019 into northern Syria will be removed.
“I will not make any promises, but I can assure you that we are actively working to ensure progress because Finland and Sweden’s application to join NATO is historic,” Stoltenberg said.
Andersson said Sweden’s stance on the PKK is “very clear” and that its country considers the organization a terrorist group. He added that Sweden’s anti-terrorism legislation is undergoing its most comprehensive overhaul in 30 years.
“In addition, constitutional amendments are being prepared that would help pave the way for criminalization or participation in terrorist organizations,” he said.
NATO released new defense spending figures showing that U.S. allies in Europe and Canada have increased defense spending for the eighth year in a row.
“By the end of the year, they will have invested more than $ 350 billion more since we agreed on our defense investment promise in 2014,” Stoltenberg said.
NATO countries reduced their military budgets in the 1990s after the end of the Cold War, but increased spending when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. That year, the Allies of NATO also pledged to achieve a defense budget target of 2% of its gross interior. product for 2024.
“Nine allies are now reaching, or exceeding, the 2% target. Nineteen allies have clear plans to reach it by 2024,” Stoltenberg said. “The two percent is increasingly considered a floor, not a roof. We will also agree to invest more together in NATO.”
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Jan M. Olsen of Copenhagen contributed to this report.
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