At a conference at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) on Monday 17 June, defence experts and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) made it clear that the war between Russia and Ukraine remains the main issue for NATO, just a few weeks ahead of the 75th summit of the Atlantic Alliance.
With regard to Ukraine, Rachel Ellehuus, Representative of the Secretary of Defense in Europe and US Defence Adviser to NATO, explained that it was necessary to continue cooperation with Ukraine as if it were a member of the organisation, to reform its defence and infrastructure and to coordinate the action of the Allies in order to “rationalise” NATO’s work. She was also of the view that in addition, the Alliance needs to adapt to hybrid threats, while increasing national budgets.
According to Angus Lapsley, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Policy and Planning, “the Allies and Europe must be prepared for the possibility of open conflict” and must broaden the scale of their thinking, although he believes that the pressure exerted by Russia is only a deterrent. Faced with the various challenges that are weakening NATO, it is above all necessary to rethink the relationship between civilian and military authorities, something that has not been done since the Cold War, explained Mr Lapsley. This is essential, particularly for the supply of petrol and water, the use of cyberspace and the deployment of health infrastructure on the front line. He concluded by pointing out that NATO’s mission remains to promote peace.
Finally, researcher Harry Nedelcu asks “are we doing enough?” and “enough for what?” to bring peace or to recover all the Ukrainian territories? According to him, “our strategy is not working”, since Russia is constantly moving forward. This is why NATO must completely rethink its approach and speed up the process of Ukraine’s accession.
In response, Rachel Ellehuus expressed her fears about the reaction of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but pointed out that discussions on increasing budgets were underway. Harry Nedelcu retorted that Ukraine’s accession is certainly risky, “but doing nothing is just as risky”. This is why, in his view, NATO should set a date for accession. This would show Putin the seriousness of the project and make him reconsider the peace option.
While the French President, Emmanuel Macron, has put forward the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine, the speakers remain cautious and propose above all sending trainers, agreeing on the idea that we need to wait and see how the situation develops. On the other hand, when asked about the involvement of non-NATO allies, Rachel Ellehuus was clear that they should not get involved, but that it would be interesting to share knowledge, particularly with Japan. (Original version in French by Paul Charles – intern)