Nato ‘not prepared for attack’

LONDON: Nato was not prepared for the threat of a Russian attack on one of its members, British lawmakers said yesterday, calling for more equipment and troops to be positioned in the Baltic States, which, they said, were particularly vulnerable.

Parliament’s defence select committee said events in Crimea and eastern Ukraine had revealed “alarming deficiencies” in Nato’s preparedness and should be a “wake-up call”. The military alliance has stepped up exercises in eastern Europe since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula in March. Ukraine is not a member of Nato.

Ukraine’s neighbour Poland, a Nato member, has said it wants the alliance to permanently station troops in the region as a guarantee against Russian intervention. But most Nato members are reluctant because of the cost and the risk of further antagonising the Kremlin.

Britain and Nato had been too focused on counter-insurgency warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, and radical reform was needed to be able to respond to current threats, the committee said.

“Nato has been too complacent about the threat from Russia, and it is not well prepared,” said Rory Stewart,

Britain and Nato have been too focused on warfare in Iraq, Afghanistan

chairman of the committee, made up of lawmakers from the ruling Conservatives and Liberal Democrats as well as from opposition Labour.

“The instability in Russia, president Putin’s world view and the failure of the West to respond actively in Ukraine means that we now have to address urgently the possibility, however small, of Russia repeating such tactics elsewhere. In particular, the Nato member states in the Baltic are vulnerable,” he said.

The committee’s report said a Nato summit in Wales in September should agree on plans for the positioning of equipment in the Baltic States – Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – a continuous presence of Nato troops for training and large-scale military exercises including representatives from all 28 Nato member states. – Reuters