According to L.Linkevičius, the Alliance and its military leaders have to carefully evaluate the existing military capability and readiness to respond to new threats, non-traditional military and other measures taken by Russia in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
"Such actions are totally unacceptable. Not only are they ruining the European security architecture, they are also a serious violation of the principles set out in the Charter of the United Nations and other key international laws. NATO has to further strengthen the allied forces and their ability to defend against conventional and new kinds of military threats," L.Linkevičius said.
NATO's readiness to maximally ensure security for its members in view of the changed security situation in Europe will be the main topic at the NATO summit meeting on 4-5 September in Wales. It is expected that leaders will take specific decisions at the summit. At the meeting, the ministers agreed to continue to work in this direction. The Alliance's leaders will decide about the future NATO-Russia cooperation in Wales, but, first of all, it depends on Moscow's behaviour.
Over dinner on the eve of NATO's Foreign Ministers' meeting, the ministers discussed NATO's open door policy. Montenegro and Georgia were identified as the best-prepared candidates for membership.
The Allies began to develop a substantive package for Georgia that will encompass the main elements of Georgia's connectivity with the Alliance in implementing the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Georgia will become a member of NATO. On Montenegro, the Alliance will open intensified and focused talks and assess at the latest by the end of 2015 whether to invite Montenegro to join NATO.
