Stoltenberg announces NATO's adoption of a new concept of military planning and sets a date for Finland and Sweden to join the alliance

he Secretary-General of NATO announced that the defense ministers of the member states agreed at their meeting in Brussels today, Wednesday, a new concept of military planning for the alliance, which takes into account the threats from China.

Stoltenberg indicated that NATO will work to enhance the protection of underwater infrastructure after the sabotage operations that targeted the "Northern Stream" oil pipeline in the Baltic Sea, and said that a coordination center will be established at NATO headquarters to protect the underwater infrastructure.

With regard to the issue of Finland and Sweden joining NATO, Stoltenberg said that they should obtain membership by next fall, considering that they have fulfilled all the conditions of Turkey. He pointed out that among the 30 member states of the alliance, only Turkey and Hungary did not agree to join Finland and Sweden. matter.”

According to Stoltenberg, NATO defense ministers also agreed to expand military aid to Georgia and Moldova, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, which he described as vulnerable partners.

He stated that NATO countries began to increase the production of 155 mm artillery shells for Ukraine as a priority, and the defense ministers agreed to work intensively with the military-industrial complex to increase ammunition production.

Stoltenberg said that the decision on a new increase in NATO's military spending will be taken at the Vilnius Summit next July, stressing that NATO countries must consider the 2% indicator of GDP as a minimum for their military spending, and not as a maximum, as is the case so far.

This came during the minister's speech before the State Duma today, Wednesday, where Lavrov said that the new concept of Russian foreign policy "will focus on the need to end the West's monopoly on shaping the framework of international life, while the framework must be defined not in the selfish interests of the West, but rather on the basis of a fair balance of interests."

The minister continued, "In our updated foreign policy concept, we must, from now on, define the framework for shaping international life on a just global basis to achieve a balance of interests, as required by the United Nations Charter, which enshrined the principle of sovereign equality among all states."

Lavrov added that the West "is trying to prevent Russia by bringing it back decades, or even disrupting the country's development under the slogans of decolonization and preparing for Russia's collapse," noting that the Anglo-Saxons and the collective West and their followers undoubtedly seek to "impose their dictates in international affairs at any cost in order to continue Controlling the external conditions for the development of all mankind for their own hegemony throughout the world, resorting to illegal methods with threats, blackmail and even outright theft, and punishing those who pursue an independent policy with a national orientation.

Lavrov also stressed that the West's plans to turn Ukraine into an anti-Russian foothold have recently reached a point of no return.

The minister touched on the lies of Western politicians about who blew up the "Northern Stream" pipelines, just as they did about the Minsk agreements. He emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin's path of firmly defending national interests is proving effective.

Lavrov described France's accusations regarding what it called "Russia's destabilizing role in Africa" ​​as nothing but a "pathological condition", and expressed the Russian Foreign Ministry's support for the idea of ​​the "United Russia" party to hold an international forum to combat neo-colonialism.

The Russian foreign minister further noted that the relations between Russia and China lie at the core of the foundation of the new multipolar world order.

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