German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Friday has said NATO needs to maintain its double strategy in dealings with Russia consistently, calmly and soberly.
Von der Leyen told newsmen ahead of the Western alliance’s annual summit being held in Warsaw.
“What is important is that NATO positions itself so strongly that it is clear that no one can see any advantage in attacking this military alliance,’’ Von der Leyen said.
Report says NATO’s double strategy is aimed at offering security to its eastern members while signalling to Russia that it has nothing to fear from the alliance.
“Dialogue with Moscow had to be pursued from a position of strength,’’ Von der Leyen said, as the two-day summit of the 28 NATO members got underway.
The summit, being held under the shadow of Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2015, was to decide on fresh deployments to Eastern European members feeling threatened by Moscow.
Meanwhile these plans foresaw multinational battle units being stationed in Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The German government’s commissioner for Russian affairs, Gernot Erler, described the deployment of NATO troops as “symbolic” in comments.
“They would not counter a genuine threat from Russia,’’ he said.
Erler said he anticipated further Russian deployments along its borders with NATO states, and he called for a “halt signal” along with an end to rearmament on both sides.