Washington. October 5th. INTERFAX - The United States and its NATO allies have a lot of work to do in adapting the alliance to the changing strategic situation in the world and revising the strategic concept of the bloc, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said.
"We need constant investments in NATO's deterrence and defense, as well as a revised strategic concept that will determine the Alliance's approach to the changing strategic environment. So we have a lot to do," Austin said at a meeting in Washington with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The American minister noted that these issues will be the focus of attention at the upcoming meeting of NATO defense ministers at the end of October.
Austin stressed: "NATO now remains the most important forum for consultation, decision-making and action on transatlantic security and defense issues, as well as the foundation on which we continue to build our collective security and common prosperity. This is the most powerful and successful alliance in history, and we are going to keep it that way in the future."
Stoltenberg, for his part, stated: "The NATO bloc is as important as ever because we are facing a more competitive world. We see that Russia is responsible for aggressive actions, we see how a more assertive China uses its economic and military power, and we also face cyber threats, constant terrorist threats, as well as the impact of climate change on security."
According to him, "there is not a single continent, not a single country that could cope with this problem alone." Therefore, North America and Europe, as NATO allies, must "adapt the alliance to changing security conditions, and this is exactly what we are doing."
Stoltenberg noted that since 2014, NATO countries, in addition to the planned expenditures, have invested an additional $260 billion in strengthening the defense of the bloc.
"Thus, NATO is adapting, responding to more complex security conditions, and we need to maintain this momentum as we move forward," the NATO Secretary General said.
