NATO chief: Alliance 'stepping up across all domains'

By Serife Cetin and Hasan Esen

BRUSSELS (AA) – NATO is stepping up across all domains: air, land, sea, and cyber to thwart all kinds of threats, including terrorism, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.

Speaking at a news conference after NATO's defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Stoltenberg said the agenda of the finished three sessions included the Alliance’s deterrence, cyber-security and nuclear power.

He said a new Terrorism Intelligence Cell had been established at the NATO headquarters to share information and analysis on terror threats “more effectively”.

“Work to set up our Hub for the South is also on track. It will be fully operational by the end of the year,” he said.

Stoltenberg also said “This is the third consecutive year of accelerating defense investment across European Allies and Canada,” which meant an increase of almost $46 billion more for defense since 2015.

Elaborating on the defense spending, he said NATO expects Romania to spend 2 percent of its gross domestic product along with five other countries, and Latvia and Lithuania on defense.

He said NATO will also invest in “new capability targets” that would include heavy equipment, air-to-air refueling, and having more forces to move at shorter notice.

“Our enhanced forward presence is now fully operational in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. And our Multinational Division Headquarters in Poland is now active. This sends a clear message to any possible aggressor,” he said.

About the Black Sea region, he added: “Earlier this week, the Headquarters of our Multinational Brigade South East in Romania was activated as a NATO military body. The brigade is conducting exercises and U.K. jets are currently patrolling the region’s skies.”

The NATO chief also announced that the next meeting of alliance in Brussels will take place in the summer of 2018.

Defense Minister Fikri Isik represented Turkey at the NATO meeting where he met his German counterpart Ursula von der Leyen, Australian Marise Payne and Macedonian Radmila Sekerinska Jankovska.