NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a press conference to preview the NATO Summit in Vilnius, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
BRUSSELS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) aims to adopt three regional defense plans at its upcoming summit in Vilnius, Lithuanian, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference here on Friday.
He said the military bloc would strengthen its deterrence in the Atlantic and European Arctic in the north, in the Baltic region and Central Europe in the center, and in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the south.
To execute these plans, NATO would put 300,000 troops on high readiness, including substantial air and naval combat power, Stoltenberg said, adding that he expected the endorsement of a new "Defense Production Action Plan to aggregate demand, boost capacity and increase interoperability."
Stoltenberg also said that he expected the allies to agree on a package to bring Ukraine closer to NATO.
At the summit, NATO allies are expected to set a more ambitious defense investment pledge to invest a minimum of 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) annually on defense.
The summit, scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday, will also be attended by the leaders of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and the European Union. This will be Finland's first summit as a NATO ally, Stoltenberg noted, adding that the bloc "looks forward to Sweden joining as soon as possible."
Against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the demonstration of military power by NATO is dangerous, Hrvoje Klasic, professor of history at the University of Zagreb, told Xinhua recently. ■
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a press conference to preview the NATO Summit in Vilnius, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)
