NATO preparing contingency plans after Russian invasion
(Vatican Radio) American President Barack Obama (pictured, with Dutch Prime Minister
Mark Rutte) says the NATO military alliance is preparing contingency plans amid regional
concerns that Russia will invade other countries after its takeover of Ukraine's Crimean
Peninsula. Speaking at the end of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, the Netherlands,
he also warned the United States and European Union are working on tougher sanctions
against Moscow.
Obama said the deployment of 30.000 Russian troops near Ukraine's
borders appear "to be an effort of intimidation" at a time of concern in neighbouring
countries that they will be next after Russia invaded Crimea.
However the
president made clear that the NATO military alliance is preparing to defend its member
states.
"Some of those countries are NATO allies. And as NATO allies we believe
the cornerstone of our security is making sure that all of us, including the United
States, are abiding by Article 5 and the notion of collective defence," Obama said.
Article 5 says that an "armed attack against one or more of them in Europe
or North America shall be considered an attack against them all" and that consequently
they will defend each other.
CONTINGENCY PLANS
Obama revealed that
NATO is now organizing - "even more intensively" - to make sure "contingency plans
are in place, and that every one of our NATO allies has assurances that we will act
in their defence..."
Additionally Obama said the West will give economic and
political support to non-NATO members such as Ukraine.
He also warned of more
EU and US sanctions if Russia continues military actions in Crimea and beyond.
"And
that would include areas like energy, or finance, or arms sales or trade that exists
between Europe, the United States and Russia," Obama explained.
The European
Union and United States already imposed measures such as imposing travel bans and
financial restrictions on key Russian officials.
EU ANXIOUS
Summit host,
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, acknowledged that EU leaders have been anxious about
retaliation by Russia, a key natural gas supplier of Europe.
"But obviously
we make sure will design the sanctions in such a way that they will have a maximum
impact on the Russian economy, and not on the European, the Canadian, the Japanese,
or the American economy," Rutte pledged.
President Obama urged Moscow not
to use the argument of protecting Russian minorities to invade other areas and end
its international isolation.
He criticized Moscow's argument that it is protecting
ethnic Russians.
Obama said unlike in Kosovo, where he claimed "thousands
were slaughtered" during the recent Balkan wars, "there was no evidence that Russian
speakers" have been attacked.