(VOVworld) - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced Monday that NATO will set up a high-readiness force to help protect its member nations against potential Russian aggression while implementing its Cooperative Memorandum of Understanding with Russia. At a pre-summit news conference in Brussels, Rasmussen said alliance officials will be asked to approve the creation of "The Readiness Action Plan” that will ensure NATO has the right forces and the right equipment in the right place, at the right time.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

He stressed that NATO does not want to attack any countries but it has to take actions to defend its allies amid increasingly visible threats. A proposed new force that Rasmussen said could be composed of several thousand troops contributed on a rotating basis by the 28 NATO countries. Backed by air and naval assets, the unit would be a "spearhead" that could be deployed at very short notice to help NATO members defend themselves, Rasmussen said. NATO leaders will also discuss possibilities to upgrade its allies’ infrastructures, including airfields and seaports to allow their use by the force.