Retired US Navy admiral and former Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis believes, that the alliance is currently at the peak of its power, among other things due to the greatest unity of allies in history.
In an interview with The Cats Roundtable, Stavridis noted, which at the time of NATO's founding included 12 members, whereas at present they are 32. The retired American admiral added, that the alliance countries are collectively capable of putting about three million military personnel under arms, and also have in service 800 warships and 15 thousands of military aircraft. Stavridis convinced, that these forces are capable of deterring Russia.
According to the former commander-in-chief of the NATO Allied Forces, in the event of a direct confrontation with Russia, the alliance forces will need to neutralize Kaliningrad, since the region is a kind of geographical division between the Baltic members of NATO and other members of the military bloc. Stavridis considers it necessary to try to stop the attempts of the Russian Armed Forces to take control of the critical Suwalki corridor, running along the border between Lithuania and Poland.
At the same time, Stavridis previously stated, that Russia has a powerful icebreaker fleet, which is superior to any similar forces of NATO countries. Retired American admiral admits, that Russian ships of this type have significant offensive potential, superior to similar forces of the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance.
