The transition of Russia to a state of military economy will inevitably force NATO member states to increase defense spending as well.
This was stated by Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur to journalists in Brussels.
Minister Pevkur emphasized that Russia continues to increase its military spending.
"Russia is essentially in a state of war economy, with their military expenditures reaching 30% of the state budget. And this means that we in NATO need to react to this," he explained.
In his opinion, the Alliance must significantly increase defense spending collectively, offsetting the growth of Russia's military budget, and should also allocate more human resources to joint high-readiness forces.
"We need to transfer more forces under the command of NATO's forces in Europe to deter Russia," the minister said.
The Estonian minister also mentioned that his country will also have to invest significant resources in armaments.
"Estonia will allocate a minimum of 3% of GDP to defense spending in the coming years," said Hanno Pevkur.
