The NATO Summit in Vilnius has progressed very positively from the Estonian perspective. “New regional plans have been approved, Sweden is about to become a full-fledged member of NATO, and Ukraine’s future towards NATO got a clearer perspective. These new military plans put in place the NATO collective defence actions across all domains – land, air, water, space and cyber. They also delve into actions in different phases of a conflict – in peacetime, in crisis and in war,” said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.
“Already today, we also talked about next steps towards ensuring the implementation of these plans: for example, strengthening military command, developing forces and capabilities, but also, of course, the necessary defence investments and boosting the capability of the defence industry,” said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.
“In the defence ministers’ format, we received an overview from NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Cavoli, who in cooperation with Allied defence forces has developed plans that are in line with the current security situation. NATO forces are stronger than a year ago and we also have a common and clear understanding on the targets for development that lay ahead of us,” said minister Pevkur.
Additionally, the defence ministers of the three Baltic States signed a joint declaration on air defence, to move forward with the rotational air defence model recently agreed at the NATO defence ministerial. “As a result of previous cooperation, the Baltic States already have joined air spaces for enabling aerial exercises for NATO jets. The Baltic States are ready to implement the new model immediately and to host Allied air force units. This was also what we communicated in our declaration,” explained Minister of Defence Pevkur.
In addition to the NATO formats, Minister of Defence Pevkur will also meet bilaterally with British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace, in order to sign a joint statement underpinning subsequent bilateral steps following the approval of the new regional plans.
Joint declaration (PDF)
Additional information: [email protected]
Photo: Balti riikide ühisdeklaratsiooni allkirjastamine (11.02.20… | Flickr