NATO agrees two new commands to protect Europe from Russia

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - NATO members on Wednesday backed a plan for two new military commands to help protect Europe in case of conflict with Russia, laying the groundwork for the biggest strengthening of the US-led alliance in decades.

Seeking to bolster deterrence against Russia, NATO defence ministers agreed to create an Atlantic Command and a Logistics Command to enable a faster response to threats in Europe, officials said.

- This is crucial for our transatlantic alliance - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference.

- It is about how we move forces across the Atlantic and how we move forces around Europe - Stoltenberg added.

Costs will not be discussed until 2018, but the two new regional bases have broad support and show NATO's focus on its traditional task of defending its territory after expeditions outside that area in the Balkans, Libya and Afghanistan in recent years.

Germany wants the logistics command to be based there, diplomats said, given its strategic position in central Europe that allows for rapid movement of equipment and personnel across borders in case of conflict.

Maritime nations such as Portugal, Spain, France and the United States could host the Atlantic Command, diplomats said, stressing that a decision has yet to be made.

In a gradual response to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in 2014, NATO has already deployed rotating units to the Baltic states and Poland, strengthened its presence in the Black Sea, and is seeking to modernise its forces.

The Kremlin, which denies having any aggressive intentions towards Europe, has condemned these moves as an attempt to encircle Russia.

NATO says Russia's military manoeuvres in September, which involved tens of thousands of soldiers on the Alliance's eastern flank, are another reason to better prepare for deterrence against Moscow. 

Russia has increased its naval patrols in the Baltic Sea, North Atlantic and Arctic and deployed submarines, NATO officials say, although the size of its navy is smaller now than during the Cold War.

- We want to bring NATO back to Europe and we want to focus more on NATO's maritime role - said Norwegian Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen.

The new Atlantic Command would oversee a vast area and be tasked with securing sea lanes for American reinforcements to Europe, and would include experts in cyber warfare as well as conventional weapons.

- The maritime areas between Greenland, Iceland and Britain are vulnerable for NATO in a conflict and need better monitoring in peacetime - diplomats said.

This decision is unlikely to revive the much larger Cold War-era Atlantic Command, disbanded in 2002, but it will mean a strengthening for NATO after years of downsizing following the fall of the Soviet Union.

At the height of the Cold War, the number of personnel in NATO's then 33 command centres reached 22,000. Now there are only seven such commands with fewer than 7,000 people.

NATO member states also agreed on Wednesday to provide cyber weapons to the highest commanders for use in military operations and missions, officials said, allowing the Alliance for the first time to counter computer hackers.

This step followed NATO's decision last year to recognise cyberspace as a domain of warfare along with land, sea and air, although until now commanders were limited to defensive tasks.

According to the agreement of NATO defence ministers, commanders in the alliance can now ask allies such as the US and Britain to take down an enemy server or website, although details are yet to be formalised.