Wikileaks: NATO has a secret plan for the defence of the Baltic states from Russian invasion
The United States and its Western allies have for the first time since the Cold War approved a plan of defence for Eastern Europe for the case of threat from Russia, the Guardian writes.
NATO's plans to defend the Baltic states and Poland emerged when Wikileaks published diplomatic correspondence, reports Reuters.
The plan was approved in secrecy in the NATO headquarters in Brussels earlier this year. Spoken against the idea were some Western European countries, especially Germany, for fear of upsetting Kremlin.
The defence plan is apparently called the “Eagle Guardian”. It is founded on Article V of the Treaty, which stipulates a duty of protection for all members of the alliance in case of an attack on any allied member state.
Tomas Valasek, an analyst, said the plan is fascinating. According to him, NATO has finally given its members the confidence that there is political commitment to their defence.
Under the plan, NATO stands ready to defend Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or Poland with nine divisions (from the US, the UK, Germany and Poland). In addition, the ports of North Germany and Poland (Gdansk, Gdynia) would be used as necessary, and they could serve as bases for the British and American navies.
In the Baltic states, NATO's plan has been received with enthusiasm. In Poland it is also accepted with gratitude, but the Poles are somewhat irritated because of the apparent absence of a plan that deals solely with the defence of Poland, and because they are considered to be together in this with the Baltic states.
The article in the Guardian specifies that 250,000 diplomatic telegrams were sent to achieve the necessary consensus.
The first NATO training exercise for the implementation of the new plan will be held next year, according to informed sources.