WASHINGTON, October 1. /TASS/. The armed forces of NATO countries will in the future come under the control of the commander-in-chief of the alliance's Joint Force Command in Europe, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander said in a speech at the international Warsaw Security Forum.

"NATO allies, the United States among them, but not alone, <...> will allocate and put under NATO’s command all of their national defense forces to the defense of the alliance," she noted.

NATO representatives have not previously reported on such large-scale plans. However, in May, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that most of the German armed forces will come under the military bloc's command by 2025.

Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that over the past 10 years, the military bloc's forces have reached a state of high readiness, with half a million personnel prepared. On September 27, Russian presidential aide Nikolay Patrushev remarked that NATO regularly conducts exercises simulating scenarios of combat against Russia, including repelling a supposed Russian attack on the Baltic states.