Russia would be able to occupy the Baltic countries in two days, a period during which NATO would not be capable of reacting adequately, Czech general Petr Pavel , who will take up the post of the NATO Military Committee head in June, said at a Prague conference on security affairs today.

Pavel warned that NATO´s political representation is incapable of reacting to a changed situation fast enough.

He said the measures Europe has taken in face of the threats of Russia and Islamic State are “embarrassingly ineffective.”

“On the one hand, one of [NATO´s] disadvantages is its complex process of decision making. It is because NATO has 28 members who have to reach consensus on all conclusions,” Pavel told CTK.

On the other hand, Russia is capable of making a decision very quickly, within a few hours, he said.

The length of NATO´s approval procedures on both the national and alliance levels far exceeds the deadlines within which its rapid reaction forces are capable of deployment, Pavel said….

“From the technical point of view, if I consider how many forces Russia is able to deploy in the Baltics, the size of the Baltic countries and the density of forces on their territories, the Baltics could really be occupied in a couple of days,” Pavel told CTK later today.

Image: General Petr Pavel, Sept. 10, 2014 (photo: Czech Armed Forces)