In a press conference yesterday in Madrid, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg previewed what the alliance expects to come out of the summit kicked off in Madrid today. “Our new [Strategic] Concept will guide us in an era of strategic competition,” he said. “I expect it will make clear that Allies consider Russia as the most significant and direct threat to our security. It will address China for the first time and the challenges that Beijing poses to our security, interests, and values.”
Stoltenberg announced that the allies have agreed to a massive expansion of NATO’s Response Force. “We will transform the NATO Response Force and increase the number of our high readiness forces to well over 300,000,” he said. This “transformation” will be accompanied by a “boost” in NATO’s ability to reinforce them, including with “more pre-positioned equipment, and stockpiles of military supplies, more forward-deployed capabilities, like air defense, strengthened command and control and upgraded defense plans, with forces pre-assigned to defend specific Allies.”
As for Ukraine, NATO “will agree to a strengthened Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said. “This will include substantial deliveries of support in areas like secure communications, anti-drone systems, and fuel. Over the longer term, we will help Ukraine transition from Soviet-era military equipment, to modern NATO equipment and further strengthen its defense and security institutions.”
