NATO foreign ministers urge to adapt to new Russian threats

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Europe

01:51

NATO has marked its 70th anniversary at a foreign ministers' meeting in Washington, DC, where it was formed at the advent of the Cold War. And fears of an alleged Russian nuclear threat were high on the agenda. But NATO is calling for unity amid divisions among its members.

There's a perfect symmetry to the NATO meeting exactly 70 years after Western allies united against a post World War Two Russian nuclear threat.

Moscow was high on the agenda after suspending its participation in a treaty eliminating intermediate range cruise missiles following the U.S. withdrawal from the INF treaty.

Washington says Russia has violated the treaty and plans to start missile testing this summer in response.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference during the NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC, U.S., April 4, 2019. /VCG Photo

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg insisted a strong and united NATO can negotiate with Moscow. But his hosts wanted to reprimand one particular member.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, "We must adapt our allies to confront emerging threats too, whether that's Russian aggression, uncontrolled migration, cyberattacks, threats to energy security. And now is not the time to repeat tired excuses that 'our citizens don't support increase defense spending or security spending.'"

It was a veiled attack on Germany, whose defense spending has long fallen short of an agreed two percent of economic output, though its government, insists it will meet that target by 2024.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrive for a plenary meeting of the NATO Foreign Ministers' Session at the State Department in Washington, DC, U.S., April 4, 2019. /VCG Photo

But still Russia loomed large over this meeting.

Moscow is selling a missile defense system to NATO member Turkey -- its government ignoring U.S. pressure to abandon the sale.

Tensions with Russia are unlikely to disappear, as NATO enhances its security in the Black Sea and seeks to bring two neighbors, Georgian and Ukraine into its membership.