UK MPs say NATO is ‘poorly prepared for attack from Russia’July 31, 2014 - 13:00 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - NATO is poorly prepared for an attack on a member state from Russia, an influential group of British MPs has warned, according to BBC News. The Commons Defense Committee said the recent Ukraine conflict showed "serious deficiencies" in NATO's preparedness to counter threats - and "radical reform" was needed. The MPs said the risk of a conventional assault remained low - but warned over methods such as cyber-attacks and the use of irregular militias. NATO said it would study the findings. The committee called for changes including: -Establishing a continuous presence of NATO troops and military equipment in "vulnerable" Baltic states, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -Adding unconventional threats such as irregular militia and cyber-attacks to NATO's Article 5 commitment for all members to come to the aid of a member which is attacked -"Dramatic" improvements to existing rapid reaction forces -Large-scale exercises involving military and political leaders from all NATO states. The MPs also warned NATO "may not have the collective political will to take concerted action to deter attack". "NATO is currently not well-prepared for a Russian threat against a NATO member state," the report said. "A Russian unconventional attack, using asymmetric tactics - the latest term for this is 'ambiguous warfare' - designed to slip below NATO's response threshold, would be particularly difficult to counter." The report said that while NATO had not seen Russia as a territorial threat for 20 years, recent events meant it was "forced to do so". Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Government reveals details from Pashinyan’s meeting in border village Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with a group of residents of a border village in Armenia’s northern Tavush province Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. |