Brussels : Outlining the agenda for the Warsaw NATO Summit to be held on July 8 and July 9, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said NATO leaders will take key decisions to strengthen the Alliance’s defense and deterrence and project stability beyond NATO’s borders.
Stoltenberg told a press conference on Monday that since the Alliance’s last summit in September 2014 in Wales, NATO has implemented the biggest reinforcement of its collective defense since the Cold War.
“We delivered a faster, a stronger, and a more ready Alliance. We now need to take the next steps. So at our Summit in Warsaw, we will agree to further enhance our military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance,” said Stoltenberg.
According to NATO’s press release, the group leaders will agree to deploy four robust, multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, reports Xinhua.
Further efforts to strengthen the Alliance’s deterrence and defense include a tailored presence in the South-East, based on a multinational brigade in Romania.
Steps will also be taken to improve cyber-defense, civil preparedness and the ability to defend against ballistic missile attacks.
Stoltenberg said NATO is talking with Russia to hold another meeting of the NATO-Russia Council shortly after the Warsaw Summit.
“We remain open to dialogue with Russia. The NATO-Russia Council has an important role to play as a forum for dialogue and information exchange, to reduce tensions and increase predictability,” he said.
Stoltenberg also disclosed that defense spending will also be discussed at the summit in addition to the discussions on projecting stability beyond border by helping local partners to defend themselves.
“We will agree to start training and capacity building inside Iraq, expanding our existing training for Iraqi officers in Jordan,” he said.
The deployment of NATO AWACS surveillance aircraft to support the Global Coalition to counter Islamic State will also be approved at the meeting.
Stoltenberg further reiterated NATO’s continued support for Afghanistan and continued funding of the Afghan forces until 2020. (ANI)