The American command in Europe does not exclude the possibility of a reduction or cancellation of NATO exercises scheduled for June in the Baltic Sea Baltops due to the epidemic of coronavirus infection COVID-19.
This was announced by the commander of the US forces in Europe, General Tod Walters. According to him, so far preparations for maneuvers are going according to a set plan. Earlier, due to the NATO pandemic, it was already necessary to significantly reduce the scale of the Defender Europe 2020 exercises, as well as to cancel the maneuvers associated with them. Experts believe that the situation with the global epidemic will make adjustments to the policy of the alliance to increase activity along the borders of Russia.
The annual large-scale maneuvers of NATO in the Baltic Sea Baltops may change their format or be canceled due to the epidemic of the coronavirus COVID-19. This was stated by the head of the European Command of the US Armed Forces (EUCOM) and the Commander-in-Chief of NATO, General Tod Walters.
During a telephone briefing for journalists on April 16, Volters emphasized that the status of the Baltops exercises has not changed so far. However, due to the evolving situation with the global pandemic, EUCOM and NATO may make adjustments to the planning of their operations, the US military commander added.
“Currently, work related to the Baltops exercises is ongoing. A standard process is going on: in June and July, exercises are expected based on the scale, complexity, location and, of course, the time of the exercises, we conclude that they are feasible, remaining ready to make adjustments”, – said Volters.
The general added that NATO would constantly adjust the scale of its operations in order to understand whether it is possible to carry out them in full.
“We will ensure that everything goes according to plan, but if it does not work out, we will consider the question of canceling or postponing the exercises, and, again, based on the scale, costs, location, we will make further decisions”, – Volters explained.
NATO and the United States have recently significantly increased their activity near the borders of Russia, and continuous maneuvers are its key element, military expert Yuri Knutov said in an interview. However, in the current environment, their continuation is becoming unsafe.
“The possible suspension of the exercises is a positive moment, because under the current conditions, the continuation of the exercises can lead to an increase in the incidence not only among the NATO military, but also among the civilian population”, – the expert explained.
In this situation, military maneuvers are an additional financial burden, as well as a threat to the lives of soldiers, since concentration in one place of the number of personnel violates the rules of distance, leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Konstantin Blokhin explained.
“Today, NATO and the United States do not want to scatter forces and resources on exercises, as well as endanger their own contingent, which, in turn, can be used within the Western countries to combat the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic”, – the political scientist said.
Commenting on possible changes in NATO plans, Konstantin Blokhin noted that military exercises like Baltops aimed at containing Russia will be paused due to a pandemic, but as soon as the situation in the world normalizes, the US and NATO will activate them.
“Before the pandemic, NATO and the US significantly increased their activity along the Russian borders, conducted exercises to tickle Moscow’s nerves. The chosen policy does not imply a war, but is aimed at preventing the Russian Federation from developing normally and stably”, – the expert said in a conversation with journalists.
Confused plans
Due to the spread of the coronavirus infection, NATO had to significantly reduce the scale of the Defender Europe 2020 exercises at the end of March. These maneuvers were planned as the largest in Europe since the end of the Cold War: according to the scenario, NATO countries were to repel a non-nuclear attack and the invasion of an unnamed enemy with East.
To participate in them, the United States transferred several thousand units of military equipment to the continent and intended to send at least 20 thousand troops to the region. In total, about 37 thousand military personnel from the countries – members of the alliance were supposed to be involved in the exercises, however, due to the coronavirus infection pandemic, the scale of the exercises had to be reduced and completed early.
Despite significant changes in the plans for the exercises, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on March 19 said that the maneuvers demonstrated the US commitment to the defense of Europe.
Defense News reports that the pandemic also had to cancel a number of maneuvers associated with Defender Europe 2020. In particular, operations Saber Strike and Swift Response, Dynamic Front and Army Joint Warfighting Assessment were canceled.
However, other exercises – on a smaller scale – did not begin to be canceled by NATO on the borders with Russia: on April 13, maneuvers of the alliance named Steel Brawler started in Latvia, in which about 600 soldiers took part and about 100 pieces of equipment were involved.
The pandemic makes adjustments to the plans of NATO and the United States, but they continue to maintain the confrontational nature of their actions towards Russia, Yuri Knutov believes. According to the expert, the continuation of such a policy in a crisis is extremely unreasonable.
“There is hope that the pandemic will sober up NATO and the United States and they will think that such unreasonable activity along the Russian borders could lead to conflict situations. As a rule, all wars begin under the guise of exercises. The Russian Federation cannot but respond to large-scale maneuvers near Russian borders, it is forced to step up its troops and be prepared for possible provocations”, – Knutov said.
At the same time, he recalled that the Russian Ministry of Defense does not conduct large-scale exercises due to the spread of the disease.
“Today, the Armed Forces of Russia are engaged in planned work. Large-scale exercises are not carried out due to the fact that they do not want to endanger military personnel, they avoid infection. But at the same time, planned combat training is in progress, classes are taking place in self-insulated regiments. Russia has a sound and balanced attitude to the situation, it has found a balance and is observing it”, – the expert concluded.