Reuters – VILNIUS, July 10 – Five diplomats told Reuters that NATO members had reached an agreement on defence plans outlining the alliance’s response to a Russian attack on Monday, clearing a Turkish obstacle one day before leaders meet for a summit in Vilnius.
Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has been fighting smaller wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and is fairly confident that post-Soviet Russia does not pose an existential threat.
Now that Europe’s bloodiest war since 1945 is happening so close to its borders in Ukraine, Russia is warning that it must have all planning in place well before a conflict with a peer adversary like Moscow might erupt.
Over concerns about language regarding specific regions like Cyprus, Turkey has been obstructing approval of what NATO refers to as its regional plans.
Wonderful news for the partnership. “Turkey had to make concessions and end the linkage,” a diplomat told Reuters.
On July 11-12, NATO leaders will meet in Vilnius to deliberate on Sweden’s membership and the alliance’s future relations with Ukraine.
NATO’s regional initiatives will help nations strengthen their own militaries and supply networks.
Leaders are expected to increase the alliance’s military spending target at Vilnius, making the current goal of 2% of national GDP a minimum requirement, in part because of the need to finance this fundamental shift.
It will take a few years, according to NATO officials, to fully implement the plans, but the alliance is ready to go to war right away if necessary.
Sabine Siebold did the reporting, with help from Andrew Grey, Andrius Sytas, and John Irish, and Rosalba O’Brien did the editing.
