OREANDA-NEWS NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance's new Strategic Concept should strengthen the defense of the Baltic countries significantly. The Strategic Concept will be considered at the summit which is starting on Tuesday in Madrid.

"I agree that [Kaya Kallas, Estonian Prime Minister] wants a bigger NATO presence, and I can promise her more", the Estonian broadcasting portal quoted Stoltenberg as saying to The Financial Times on Monday. "Our main duty is to prevent any attack on Estonia or any other ally".

In an interview for The FT, Kallas also stated that the current defense plans of the North Atlantic Alliance are not capable of preventing the "capture by Russian troops" of her republic. Stoltenberg added that "big and important decisions" wwould be made during the summit in order to further strengthen "collective defense" and to protect "every inch of NATO territory". Stoltenberg noted that the new military plan, due to be agreed this week in Madrid, will radically improve the defense of NATO's eastern wing, shifting the focus from deterrence to full-fledged defense.

"We never share the details of operational plans", Stoltenberg said. "But I can assure you that we have been able to defend countries bordering Russia for decades , adjusting our presence in the light of threat assessment. We have done this in the past and will continue to do so henceforth". According to him, the alliance will strengthen its defenses in Eastern Europe.

NATO's new Strategic Concept is due to be signed at the Madrid summit on Tuesday. It defines the Alliance's objectives for the next decade and agrees on an expanded plan to defend its eastern allies. It includes new structures under which NATO's western allies, such as the United States, Britain and France, will allow the deployment of their ground forces, warships and aircraft in certain areas of the Alliance's eastern wing.