According to Lithuanian Foreign Minister Laurinas Kasciunas, the aggressor country, Russia, could adapt to the sanctions, and the Allies underestimated its ability to do so.
NATO has once again underestimated the Kremlin's real capabilities
According to the diplomat, the key topic of the next NATO summit should be the military threat from Russia.
Laurinas Kasciunas is convinced that the Alliance made a fatal mistake when it "underestimated the Kremlin's ability to adapt to the situation".
Moscow, despite the sanctions, has put its economy on a war footing, given that in an authoritarian regime it does not have to worry much about the social welfare of its society.
Laurinas Kaschyunas
Lithuanian Foreign Minister
According to the Lithuanian diplomat, NATO has made this mistake because it is assessing Moscow's actions based on its own logic, which is not identical to that of the Kremlin.
Russia has already become NATO's main enemy
Laurinas Kasciunas points out that Russia's lack of responsibility for its society and its brutal management of its own mobilisation potential, which can reach 25 million people, makes it one of NATO's most dangerous enemies.
Given all these points, the Alliance must radically change its policy towards Russia to prevent the outbreak of war between the bloc and the aggressor country.
According to the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, this will require 4 stages.
build a flexible system of response and deterrence on the eastern flank;
significantly increase defence spending;
NATO members will have to modernise and strengthen their military defence systems
consider Ukraine as an element of Euro-Atlantic security and unity and finally accept it into the Alliance
In addition, the diplomat insists that NATO should no longer consider the confrontation with Russia in the "escalation-de-escalation" paradigm, but use force where necessary.
