The North Atlantic Alliance will develop a tailored presence in South-Eastern Europe, based on a Romanian brigade, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Friday at an expert forum organized in Warsaw before the NATO Summit, according to the speech posted on the NATO website.
“We will transform a Romanian brigade into a multinational brigade to strengthen our posture in the south-eastern part of the Alliance,” said Stoltenberg.
“We will also affirm our commitment to our partners in the east, to Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, to help them resist outside pressures, and advance reforms,” continued the NATO Secretary General.
“Today, we will agree to enhance our forward presence in the east of the Alliance. In Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and here in Poland. We will deploy, by rotation, a robust, multinational battalion in each of the countries. Making clear that an attack against one Ally will be met by forces from across the Alliance,” Stoltenberg added, and he went on to thank “Canada, Germany, the UK and the US, for deciding to lead these battalions.”
According to the Secretary General, the Alliance “will increase its defences against hybrid threats, cyber-attacks, and ballistic missile attacks from outside the Euro-Atlantic area.”
“Our position is clear. NATO does not seek confrontation. We do not want a new Cold War. The Cold War is history. And it should remain history,” said Jens Stoltenberg, underlining that NATO “will continue to seek constructive and meaningful dialogue with Russia” in order to make its intentions clear and “dispel any misunderstandings. And to reduce the risk of military incidents or accidents spiralling out of control.”
“Russia is our biggest neighbor and an integral part of European security. So sustaining dialogue is essential,” the Secretary General of the Alliance also said.
