NATO summit "a success" says Latvian Defense Minister

Take note – story published 4 years ago

Latvian defense Minister Artis Pabriks said the NATO summit held 3-4 December in London "can be considered a success".

In a release at the end of the summit Pabriks said a new defense plan for Poland and the Baltic States had been endorsed, though neither he nor anyone else was able to give specific details about what the plan contains.

“The agreement reached today shows the political unity between the leaders of the Member States, which needs to be strengthened in the coming years. We also raised the issue of Allied defense spending, which has grown by $130 billion in recent years. In the future, it is set to increase by another $ 400 billion. Therefore, the summit can be considered a success,” Pabriks said, with his ministry adding that he had also attended a "gala dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump."

In his press conference at the conclusion of the sumit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was asked about the Baltic plan and said: 

"We have plans in place to protect all Allies, including also, of course, the Baltic countries and Poland. And more than that, we not only have plans, but we have forces, and more forces than before. And in the Baltic countries and Poland, for the first time in the history of our Alliance, there are actually combat-ready troops deployed in the eastern part of the Alliance. And we have tripled the size of the NATO readiness . . . the NATO Response Force, so we can quickly reinforce. And then we today launch the new Readiness Initiative, where we add even more forces, so act quickly, reinforce if needed.

"Then, these plans on how to protect the different parts of the Alliance, they are regularly updated, revised. And today we have agreed to the updated plan for the Baltic countries and Poland. So I welcome that. And it shows that we are able to also move forward and update and revise plans, including the defence plans for the Baltic countries and Poland, as we did today."

 

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