„The likelihood of a NATO-Russia military conflict is low, yet it should not be ruled out as a possibility,“ Sven Sakkov, Director of ICDS argues in the NATO Defence Colleage Policy Brief, June 2019.
Sakkov proposes 8 policy options to tackle this situation and further strengthen the defence of NATO’s North-Eastern border:
- Deterrence: American forces should be deployed forward in the Baltic states.
- Maritime and air dimensions of NATO’s and America’s presence in and around the Baltic states – an American military presence does not necessarily need to be from the Army.
- The military mobility of NATO troops in Europe is far from optimal. This is an area where NATO is cooperating with the European Union.
- States need to work on the readiness levels of their spear-head forces.
- The US should provide a greater presence on the ground, compensating for their weakness in public messaging.
- The Baltic states need to increase their defence spending beyond the current level of 2 percent.
- All NATO members whose defence investments are below 2 percent should work to achieve this agreed-upon goal as soon as possible.
- Sweden and Finland need to be further integrated into NATO.
Read the full article here.
Filed under: NewsTagged with: Baltic States, Defence Policy & Strategy, Deterrence, Enhanced Forward Presence, NATO, NATO’s Eastern Flank, Russia