NATO to adopt three regional defense plans at Vilnius summit — Stoltenberg

Military & Defense July 07, 2023, 14:55

It is noted that there will be "one plan for the north, the Atlantic and European Arctic; one for the center, covering the Baltic region and central Europe; and a southern plan for the Mediterranean and Black Sea"

BRUSSELS, July 7. /TASS/. NATO will adopt three regional defense plans at its upcoming summit in Vilnius, the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Brussels on Friday.

"At the summit, we will take further major steps to strengthen our deterrence and defense. With three new regional defense plans, to counter the two main threats to our Alliance: Russia, and terrorism," he pointed out.

According to Stoltenberg, there will be "one plan for the north, the Atlantic and European Arctic; one for the center, covering the Baltic region and central Europe; and a southern plan for the Mediterranean and Black Sea."

"To execute these plans, NATO is putting 300,000 troops on higher readiness, including substantial air and naval combat power," the NATO chief emphasized.

The NATO summit will take place in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on July 11-12. At last year’s summit in Madrid, NATO leaders agreed to strengthen battle groups on the bloc’s eastern flank and expand the NATO Response Force from 40,000 troops to over 300,000.

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