The coronavirus, which had infiltrated NATO headquarters, quickly forced the alliance leadership to freeze several of its programs and stop military maneuvers.
This was reported on Wednesday, April 1, Turkish agency “Anadolu”.
Coronavirus was found both in five officials working in the North Atlantic Alliance apparatus, and in the military, participating in missions of the Western bloc. Against this background, military and political representatives of NATO were obliged to conduct all negotiations and consultations by video link. It is in this format that a meeting of foreign ministers of the bloc countries will be held, which has never happened in NATO history.
Secretary General of the alliance Jens Stoltenberg has already managed to revise the priorities, noting that the health of the officials and the military is in the first place. Although the alliance has not shut down operations, it has sacrificed several exercises, including Defender Europe 2020, Cold Response 2020, Swift Response, Dynamic Front and Saber Strike.
As the agency notes, NATO’s actions may not have the best effect on the alliance’s potential to confront its strategic opponent Russia, which has not yet cancelled the exercises.