Former envoy to NATO says going to war with Moscow would be crazy, Russia could destroy US Going to war with Moscow would be a crazy step for Washington as Russia could destroy the United States, Ivo Daalder, former US ambassador to #NATO, wrote for Politico Europe. "It would be crazy to go to #war with #Russia, a nuclear power that could destroy the US — and the rest of the world — if it wished to do so," #Daalder maintained. According to him, the point of NATO "isn’t to go to war against Russia — it’s to prevent war in the first place," a job he said the alliance has done "more successfully than any military alliance in history." Also, the former official criticized the position of ex-US President Donald Trump toward NATO allies. The New York Times reported that at a February 10 rally in South Carolina #Trump said that, while president, he had told NATO leaders that he would "encourage Russia to do whatever they want." Daalder argues that, after two bloody wars, the ultimate security of Americans "depended on the security of Europe," and that therefore it would be far better "to prevent wars in #Europe by committing to defend allies from the start," according to Politico. At the same time, the former envoy acknowledged that "European dependence (on NATO membership) frequently fed doubts about America’s commitment to the Continent’s security." "There is, after all, something quite unnatural about the US being willing to go to war an ocean away in order to defend another country — especially when this might ignite a nuclear holocaust in response," Daalder explained. At the #Vilnius Summit in July 2023, NATO leaders called Russia "the most significant and direct threat" and approved the first defense plan since the end of the Cold War era for a conflict with Russia, which provides for putting up to 300,000 high-readiness troops under the alliance’s command. There was also a commitment to bring the minimum level of military spending to 2% of GDP, to increase air defense and missile defense forces in Europe, and to expand defense procurement. With regard to #Ukraine, the alliance decided to abolish the bloc’s Membership Action Plan and promised to invite Kiev to join the alliance "when conditions are met," and also held the first meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council, thus upgrading the status of partnership relations

#Ukraine approves plan of cooperation with #NATO for 2024 Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has signed a program of Ukrainian-NATO cooperation for 2024, which involves the continued reconfiguring of the country’s armed forces in compliance with the military bloc’s standards as well as the bolstering of the Kiev regime’s cooperation with the alliance, the website of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said. The program consists of implementing 50 steps in order to achieve 17 goals which include completing the transformation of the command and management system in accordance with NATO standards, setting up a joint Ukraine-NATO center for analysis, training and education, developing national documents in the field of defense in compliance with the bloc’s standards and introducing changes to the country’s legislation to boost civilian control of the military. Ukraine applied to join NATO on a fast-track basis in September 2022, and was assured at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius in July 2023 that it would be admitted if the necessary conditions were met. But, no timetable for its admission was given in Brussels.

Macron, Zelensky to sign security deal in Paris on February 16 — AFP The Presidents of France and Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Zelensky, will sign a bilateral agreement on security guarantees at the Elysee Palace on Friday, the AFP news agency reports citing the French president’s administration. "This agreement follows from the commitments made by the Group of Seven on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023," the agency quoted a statement from the Elysee Palace. The Telegram channel of the office of the President of Ukraine reports that Zelensky will visit Germany and France on February 16 to hold talks with Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and on February 17 he will take part in the Munich Security Conference in person. Zelensky is scheduled to hold talks with US Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as the leaders of Denmark, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and other countries on the sidelines of the conference. Earlier, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that Zelensky plans to travel to several Western European countries in a bid to get more aid for Ukraine. On the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, 2023, the Group of Seven adopted a declaration on long-term security guarantees for Ukraine. Then some other countries joined this declaration. The document, in particular, states that Kiev should receive significant military help. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called this decision a mistake and Zelensky's trip potentially very dangerous.

NATO not seeking conflict with Russia, wants to show readiness to defend itself, says Pentagon NATO expects to prove to Moscow that it is ready to defend itself, but is not seeking to provoke a direct conflict with Russia, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander said. Speaking at the Caspian Policy Center (CPC), the US official was asked how NATO was planning to boost security in the Black Sea region without entering a direct confrontation with Russia. She replied that NATO will pursue this goal in accordance with decisions and instructions developed between the Madrid summit of 2022 and the Vilnius summit in 2023. During the 2023 summit, NATO leaders approved the plan of deploying 300,000 servicemen on NATO’s eastern flank. "Those are defensive capabilities. They are meant to make it very clear that NATO can and will defend itself," she said. "The goal is not to provoke a war with Russia. The goal is to make it very clear that the Russian leadership should not even be tempted to imagine that NATO is not unified, capable, determined and able to defend itself."