BRUSSELS. July 11 (Interfax) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced the most powerful reinforcement of the alliance's defense capabilities since the Cold War.
"Allies have also approved the most comprehensive defense plans since the end of the Cold War. These are designed to counter the two main threats we face: Russia and terrorism," Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Vilnius on Tuesday, following the first day of NATO summit sessions.
"Under our new plans, NATO aims to have 300,000 troops at high readiness," he said.
In order to beef up deterrence and defense, a joint plan of defense production has been agreed in order to "accelerate joint procurement, boost interoperability, and generate investment and production capacity."
"Our latest estimates show that defense expenditure by European allies and Canada will increase by 8.3% in 2023. This is the biggest increase in decades. Since 2014, they will have invested an extra 450 billion US dollars in defense. Eleven allies now reach or exceed the 2% benchmark. And we expect this number will rise substantially next year," Stoltenberg said.
The NATO heads of state and heads of government who are now meeting in Vilnius have each committed to invest in defense an amount of no less than 2% of annual gross domestic product every year, he said.