NATO Secretary-General, Mark Rutte on Wednesday announced that allies would agree on new defence capability targets at the upcoming meeting of the alliance’s defence ministers.
According to Rutte, these targets will set out what forces and concrete capabilities the allies need to provide to strengthen our deterrence and defence.
”Air and missile defence, long-range weapons, logistics, large land manoeuvre formations are among our top priorities.
”We need more resources, forces and capabilities so that we are prepared to face any threat and to implement our collective defence plans in full.”
The NATO secretary general added that the defence ministers gathering in Brussels on Thursday was expected to formally adopt the top-secret plans.
”The new targets include a huge leap forward towards a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance,’’ Rutte said.
He added that the world was becoming more difficult, listing Russia’s war against Ukraine, terrorism and global competition as threats.
He stressed that to deliver on the new targets, NATO members would have to increase their defence spending.
”Allies are expected to take a decision on higher military expenditure at an upcoming leaders’ summit later this month in The Hague.
”To ensure that NATO targets are met, Germany and other member states will now be assigned new national targets for their military capabilities, including weaponry,” Rutte said.
Under the plans, the currents targets are to be increased by around 30 per cent, sources told dpa.
The new targets are considered to be a particularly difficult challenge because the existing goals are far from being met.
Senior military officials recently spoke of a gap of 30 per cent. (dpa/NAN)
