Supreme Allied Commander in Europe: The modernization of the Russian army cannot fail to impress
U.S. General Curtis Scaparrotti, Chief of the Allied Forces of NATO in Europe, is impressed with the way Moscow has reformed its military doctrine in recent years, he said on Thursday, July 28, speaking at a security forum in the U.S. city of Aspen, Colorado.
"It is obvious that they learn ... adapt their [military] doctrine ... which cannot fail to impress. They, certainly are modernizing; they reorganized their [armed] forces, by reducing their numbers, but at the same time making them more professional. With regard to their weapons systems, they are closely watching our [actions]," the American commander admitted.
According to Scaparrotti, NATO has to respond to Moscow’s actions by allocating the necessary funds for defense and modernization. According to the general, "five countries out of 28" in the Alliance have already increased the size of their defense spending up to 2 percent of GDP, in accordance with the decision made at the NATO summit in Wales in September 2014.
Speaking at the forum, Scaparrotti also said that during his studies at the elite U.S. military academy at West Point he studied Russian. According to him, at that time he was convinced that such knowledge would better "prepare him to fight" the enemy.