Agence France-Presse,
London: NATO may “step up” its planning and training to defend the 26-nation bloc's territory, the alliance's head said Friday, amid tensions between the West and Moscow over the recent Georgia-Russia conflict.
But speaking in London after a meeting of NATO defence ministers, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said there was no reason for alarm.
The NATO ministers including US Defence Secretary Robert Gates “concluded that planning and training for collective defence of NATO territory is what this alliance has done for 60 years,” he said.
“We may step up some elements here or there,” he told reporters, before adding that “planning and training for collective defence is, for NATO … business as usual.”
“No one should be surprised or alarmed, in other words.”
His comments come amid a deep chill between the West and Moscow, which earlier Friday accused NATO of provoking last month's conflict between Georgia and Russia, an accusation the alliance has refuted.
The NATO defence ministers' meeting focused on transforming the alliance from a Cold War security grouping to a more flexibile regional bloc, though De Hoop Scheffer stressed that the discussions had not led to any formal decisions.
