The system includes warships, long-range missile defense interceptors and radars placed across the territory controlled by the allied forces.
“Today we have decided to declare initial operational capability of the NATO ballistic missile defense system. This means that the US ships based in Spain, the radar in Turkey and the interceptor site in Romania are now able to work together under NATO command and NATO control," he explained on Friday, Russia Today reported.
Stoltenberg added that the shield is “entirely defensive" and "represents no threat to Russia's strategic nuclear deterrent.”
The system comes as NATO prepares to send a new deterrent to Eastern Europe following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. On Friday, the deterrent was approved by NATO leaders, who are now officially ready to send multinational troops to the Baltics and Poland to secure them from possible ‘Russian aggression.’
“These battalions will be robust and they will be multinational. They make clear that an attack on one ally will be considered an attack on the whole alliance,” Stoltenberg told reporters on the first day of the Warsaw Summit.
However, the Secretary General noted that the measure does not mean that the allies want to isolate Russia: “We do not want a new Cold War, we do not want a new arms race and we do not seek new confrontation. As we strengthen our deterrents and our defense, we continue to seek a constructive dialogue with Russia."
"Russia is our biggest neighbor. Russia cannot and should not be isolated,” the diplomat stressed, underlining the Alliance’s willingness to pursue a dialogue with Moscow, which is to be briefed on NATO’s decision at the Russia-NATO summit next week.
Stoltenberg said the planned deployment in four member-states, namely Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, will consist of four rotational battalions totaling 3,000 to 4,000 troops.
This number, he explained, is considered to be an “appropriate deterrent measure” based on military advice. Nearly all of the Alliance member-states will take part in supporting the battalions. However, the agreed upon number of troops is only a part of a larger defense system, Stoltenberg noted, while the timeline of the battalion presence in the region is open-ended and will last for as long as NATO deems it necessary.