Belgium: NATO to expand spearhead force to 40,000 troops, Stoltenberg confirms

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced plans to increase the "strength" of the organisation's "response force to 40,000 troops" in a press conference following the first day of the NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels, Monday. NATO’s response force was initially 13,000 troops strong but Stoltenberg reasoned that the Alliance needed to strengthen its forces due to a "more challenging security environment.” Despite this increase in troop capacity, Stoltenberg announced that NATO “will not be dragged into an arms race.” Taking place in Brussels on June 24 and 25, the Defence Ministers meeting is set to discuss top security topics such as national defence budgets and how to speed up the decision-making process within NATO. The Afghan and Ukrainian defence ministers are also attending the meeting as the organisation discusses support for both countries.