The first day of the NATO summit is now in the books and while NATO members clearly have some deep differences (US/Germany) what has come out of the summit is that despite all their internal bickering, the outdated and bloated alliance is still united and ready to adopt more robust “measures” aimed against Russia.
After yesterday’s tongue lashing at the hands of US President Trump, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg kept up appearances and focused on the most convenient of boogeymen, Russia, as Stoltenberg announced that the NATO members agreed to launch a NATO Readiness Initiative.
According to RT, the program involves creating an “additional 30 major naval combatants, 30 heavy or medium maneuver battalions and 30 kinetic air squadrons, with enabling forces,” which should be able to be deployed within 30 days or less. Along with building two new command centers in the US and Germany, this move was widely regarded as another measure being taken as part of a “suffocation” strategy against Moscow.
Apart from that, while accusing Moscow of acting “aggressively” on its borders, the bloc continues its expansion to the east. On Wednesday, NATO leaders formally invited Macedonia to start membership talks. The invitation, which was formalized in a communique at the NATO summit, is likely to further provoke Moscow’s concerns about the “defensive”project which has been established and has always been aimed against Russia.
The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the smackdown that NATO received at the hands of US President Trump, and if this was all bark with no bite.
Meanwhile Trump’s energy posturing sets up what will certainly be a fascinating summit between him and Russian President Putin.
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