[Article publié le jeudi 13 juin à 16h44, mis à jour à 17h52]What response to “ Russia’s campaign of hostile activities against NATO Allies » ? Meeting this Thursday and Friday in Brussels, Defense Ministers intend to decide on specific measures in this direction, declared this Thursday, the Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, to the press.
The 32 NATO countries will notably work on “ options » to respond to these hybrid attacks, including in particular greater sharing of intelligence, strengthening of the protection of essential infrastructures (energy, telecommunications, etc.) and measures of “ restriction » against Russian agents, he added.
NATO: France should devote 2% of its GDP to defense spending in 2024
Moscow accused of wanting to sow discord in NATO countries
The threat of NATO sanctions follows complaints from several member countries about an increase in hybrid attacks from Moscow. “ We have had several examples of sabotage, arson, cyberattacks and disinformation », Specified Jens Stoltenberg before the start of a meeting of NATO defense ministers.
Poland has indicated that it wants to restrict the movement of Russian diplomats on its territory after the arrest of several people suspected of sabotage on behalf of Russia. NATO suspects Russia of wanting to spread fear, sow discord and try to undermine Allied support for Ukraine. “ Russia’s actions will not prevent us from continuing to support Ukraine “, affirmed Jens Stoltenberg on this point.
300,000 NATO soldiers ready to intervene
But the Alliance warns that it will not be intimidated. She particularly insisted on the number of soldiers that she could mobilize in the event of an escalation of tensions. NATO countries agreed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to significantly increase the number of troops that could be mobilized in less than 30 days. Responses provided by the Allies “well exceed 300,000”the figure that NATO had then set for itself, specified a senior Alliance officialon condition of anonymity.
This increased mobilization capacity is part of the plans put in place by NATO to respond to any possible attack, decided at the Alliance summit in Vilnius (Lithuania) last year. These defense plans spell out what each ally must do in the event of an invasion of Russia, for the first time since the end of the Cold War.
Military commands check in each Alliance country whether they have the necessary capabilities and are able to implement these plans. In this project, NATO has nevertheless fallen behind in terms of anti-aircraft defense and long-range missiles.
Only two air defense systems
NATO countries have only found two anti-aircraft defense systems, of the Patriot or Samp-T type, to give to Ukraine, which has nevertheless been asking for them for months, several of them admitted on Thursday . “ I have no announcement to make on Patriot batteries today (Thursday) », admitted the American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels with his NATO counterparts. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had nevertheless demanded from his allies, at the beginning of April, that they send them at least seven Patriot batteries, sophisticated American-made surface-to-air missiles capable of intercepting ballistic missiles at high speed. speed.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his call on the West to deliver new anti-aircraft defense systems as quickly as possible. The incessant Russian strikes have caused dozens of civilian casualties and brought the country’s energy infrastructure to its knees. “ Modern air defense systems can provide maximum protection for people, our cities and our positions. We need it as much as possible “, declared the Ukrainian president at the time.
But only Germany responded to the call, promising to send a third Patriot battery in mid-April, after having already sent two. “ So, we no longer have any margin to provide more, beyond three. It’s up to others now to provide these systems », German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday. Since then, the Netherlands has been trying to assemble a “puzzle” of different pieces from several NATO countries, to constitute a complete battery for the benefit of Ukraine. “ It’s called the Patriot Puzzle, which means other countries are seeing what they can do. », Explained Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren.
Italy also promised to send a battery of Samp-T, an Italian-French-made anti-aircraft defense system. Several NATO countries, including the United States, Spain, Poland and Greece, have Patriot or Samp-T batteries. But they say they need it to protect their territories. “ There will be no change in our coverage of Patriot systems in Poland “, clarified Lloyd Austin.
NATO remains confident in France’s support
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was convinced this Thursday in Brussels that France would remain an ally. solid and important » whoever his next government is.
“ Whatever the outcome of the elections, I consider that France is an integral part of NATO, anything else would be difficult to explain, but again, we simply have to wait and see », declared German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, before a meeting in Brussels with his counterparts from the Atlantic Alliance.
Having come first in the European elections in France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally has always demanded France’s exit from the integrated command of the Atlantic Alliance. The president of the party, Jordan Bardella, however indicated that this withdrawal was now conditional on “ stabilization (of) the situation in Ukraine “. On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron castigated the ambiguities of the RN towards Russia, and its desire to “ leave NATO “.
(With AFP)
