NATO Chiefs of Defence meet ahead of Warsaw Summit
The NATO Chiefs of Defence (CHoDs) met on 18th May at NATO Headquarters in Brussels for their last Military Committee meeting before the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July. The CHoDs discussed the implementation of the Readiness Action Plan, the future of the Resolute Support Mission and enhanced military cooperation with Partners. Finally, the CHoDs reviewed the progress in cooperation with Georgia and Ukraine.
The one-day meeting allowed the NATO Chiefs of Defence (CHoDs) to discuss and provide advice on the deterrence and defence related work ahead of the Foreign and Defence Ministers’ meetings and the upcoming Summit in Warsaw. During his opening remarks, General Pavel, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, emphasized that “our discussions today provide an opportunity to establish a common understanding of recent developments in our constantly evolving security environment and identify the most important advice for our political leaders”.
With the current security environment and the challenges NATO is facing from the East and from the South, the CHoDs’ discussions focused on long-term military adaptation, stressing the need for a full range of capabilities to counter any threats and continued emphasis on responsiveness and readiness.
In the Resolute Support Mission meeting, the 28 allied Chiefs and their 13 Partner counterparts received updates from General Scaparrotti, the new Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and General Nicholson, Commander Resolute Support on the security situation in Afghanistan and the status of the Resolute Support Mission (RSM). The military leaders reaffirmed NATO’s continued commitment to Afghanistan and emphasized the importance of maintaining a condition-based approach to RSM.
The MCCS highlighted the importance of maintaining and enhancing partnerships. In the meeting in the Interoperability Platform (IP) format, the 28 Allied and 25 IP CHoDs deliberated on Defence Capacity Building and support tailored based on the needs of individuals partners.
The session with Georgia centered on continued defence reform progress and the review of the implementation of the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package. The meeting with Ukraine highlighted the security situation in and around Ukraine and provided Ukraine with an opportunity to update the CHoDs on the progress of the Ukraine Armed Forces development. General Pavel highlighted the importance of this progress, especially “taking into consideration the security reality in Eastern Ukraine, and along the country’s eastern border.”
The 175th MCCS concluded with a press conference with General Pavel, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (CMC), General Scaparrotti, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and General Mercier, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT).