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NATO to draw up new defence plans amid Ukraine crisis: Rasmussen
by Staff Writers
Marseille (AFP) Aug 03, 2014


NATO must respond to Russia: Cameron
London (AFP) Aug 02, 2014 - NATO must rethink its long-term relationship with Russia and strengthen the alliance's ability to respond quickly to any threat, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Saturday.

NATO needs to sustain a "robust" defensive presence in eastern Europe, Cameron wrote in a letter to the alliance's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and the 27 other NATO country leaders.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization also needs to beef up its response force of rapidly deployable land, sea, air and special operations troops, he said.

With six weeks to go before Britain hosts the NATO summit in Newport, south Wales, Cameron said he wanted to use the meeting to agree a tougher policy towards Moscow, which would send a message that NATO member states would not be intimidated.

"In 2014, the world is more unpredictable than ever and we meet at another pivotal moment in the history of the alliance," Cameron wrote.

"In Afghanistan, our combat mission is coming to an end. To the east, Russia has ripped up the rulebook with its illegal annexation of Crimea and aggressive destabilisation of Ukraine.

"To the south, an arc of instability spreads from north Africa and the Sahel, to Syria, Iraq and the wider Middle East.

"So we must use the summit to agree how NATO should adapt to respond to and deter such threats; and to ensure the continued collective defence of all its members."

He said while NATO had only ever sought to be a partner to Russia, not a threat, "it is clear that Russia views NATO as an adversary".

"We must... review our long-term relationship with Russia," Cameron wrote.

"We must accept that the co-operation of recent years is not currently possible because of Russia's own illegal actions in NATO's neighbourhood and revisit the principles that guide our relationship with Russia."

NATO must agree on "long-term measures to strengthen our ability to respond quickly to any threat, to reassure those allies who fear for their own country's security and to deter any Russian aggression".

As NATO's combat operations in Afghanistan wind down towards the end of the year, he said the alliance had to consider how to support the country in the future and stop it from "once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists".

He said NATO had to address the risks and challenges posed by failed states, regional conflicts, terrorism and cyber-attacks.

He also urged the 28 member states to meet the NATO target of spending two percent of gross domestic product on defence, something Cameron said only four countries were achieving.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in an interview published Sunday that the alliance would draw up new defence plans in the face of "Russia's aggression" against Ukraine, urging members to up their military spending.

Echoing comments by British Prime Minister David Cameron, Rasmussen told French regional newspaper Midi Libre that "Russia's aggression was a warning and created a new security situation in Europe".

"We will strengthen military exercises and prepare new defence plans," he said.

"I will encourage NATO countries to increase their defence investments. Over the past five years, Russia has increased its spending on defence by 50 percent, and NATO countries have reduced theirs by an average of 20 percent," he added.

"We must reverse the trend."

Russian support for pro-Kremlin separatists in eastern Ukraine has angered Europe and the United States, and the downing last month of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over territory held by the rebels brought the crisis to a head.

For the first time, sanctions imposed by Brussels and Washington against Russia last week applied to entire sectors, impeding access to Western capital markets and technology needed to develop new oil and gas fields, as well as imposing an arms sales ban.

Cameron on Saturday also called on NATO to rethink its long-term relationship with Russia and strengthen its ability to respond quickly to any threat, in a letter to Rasmussen and leaders of the 27 other member countries.

"We must accept that the cooperation of recent years is not currently possible because of Russia's own illegal actions in NATO's neighbourhood and revisit the principles that guide our relationship with Russia," he wrote.

Rasmussen agreed, telling Midi Libre that Russia considered NATO a foe.

"I regret this because we must develop a fruitful cooperation between the West and Russia. But we have to adapt to this new situation," he said.

The NATO chief also said that the downing of flight MH17 was a "war crime."

"We have a lot of information that the separatists, supported by the Russians, are guilty," he said.

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