The head of the NATO Military Committee Rob Bauer said in an interview with Ukrainian media that the North Atlantic Alliance is ready for a possible conflict with Russia.
Bauer said in an interview with the Ukrainian defence ministry’s publication ArmyInform published on 22 March:
Are we ready? The answer is yes, it’s our main task to be ready. If it [a possible conflict] happens today, then you have to fight with what you have. It is always a combination of readiness for today and at the same time improving capabilities for the future.
In addition, the head of the military committee emphasised that there are no NATO soldiers in Ukraine and no plans to deploy them on the territory of the state. Bauer specified that if one member state of the alliance decides to deploy its troops, “it will be linked to the rest of the alliance”. The official recalled that one of the conditions for Ukraine’s membership in NATO is the absence of a military campaign on the territory of this state.
Bauer led the first official visit to Kyiv by a NATO military delegation since the military conflict in Ukraine began in February 2022.
Earlier, on 14 March, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he remained committed to the position on the absence of red lines in the issues of providing assistance to Kyiv and the possibility of sending troops to the territory of Ukraine.
