NATO Secretary General: Alliance Deterrent Force Must Be Strengthened

webangah News Agency reports that NATO Secretary General​ Jens Stoltenberg stated ⁣Monday following discussions with European leaders in⁢ Vilnius, Lithuania: “We welcome members’ agreement​ to increase defense spending to 5% of⁢ GDP⁣ starting ‌next year.”

teh ⁣NATO​ chief added⁤ that the alliance’s deterrence capabilities ‌must expand,emphasizing: “We need to focus on boosting investments in defense​ industries. Current NATO budgets won’t suffice in coming years – member states must substantially raise military expenditures.”

Stoltenberg controversially claimed current NATO military ​capacity might soon prove inadequate against what he called ‍”growing threats from Russia,China and North ‍Korea.”

The statements came during a press ‌conference after the Eastern Flank NATO summit in Vilnius, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr​ Zelenskyy joined⁣ Stoltenberg and other leaders.