Contents tagged with NATO

  • Poland will consider increasing the number of NATO troops in the country if Russia does not change its position

    If Russia's position does not change, the number of NATO forces near the eastern flank of the Alliance may increase as was stated by the head of the National Security Bureau of Poland, Paul Solokh, Radio Poland reports.

    "We expect that at the summit in Warsaw, the decision to increase the presence of NATO forces will not be final. These forces can be increased if the Russian position does not change," Paul Solokh said.

    At the same time, he stressed that the process of preparation for the NATO …

  • Bulgaria urges NATO to increase support for Ukraine

    Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev met with the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

    Bulgarian President expressed his support in continued assistence of Ukraine by the North Atlantic Alliance. The decision about the further assistence will be made at the Warsaw NATO summit in early July.

    "During the meeting of NATO defense ministers, it was decided to increase support for Ukraine. We expect that this support will be approved at the NATO meeting in Warsaw,” said Plevneliev after talks …

  • Polish soldiers arrive in Estonia

    On Thursday, an infantry company from the Armed Forces of Poland arrived in Estonia, as reported by Postimees, citing a statement released by the headquarters of the Estonian Defense Forces.

    The 5th Company of the 7th Motorized Battalion of the 17th Motorized Infantry Brigade will stay in Estonia until July 31 to develop cooperation with Estonian soldiers and other allies in Estonia.

    The company, reinforced by armored personnel carriers, is made up of nearly 150 servicemen. Polish soldiers …

  • Polish President calls on NATO to adhere to an open door policy with regard to Ukraine

    Reuters reports that at a joint press conference with Slovakian President Andrej Kiska, Polish President Andrzej Duda maintained that NATO must keep its doors open to countries of strategic importance such as Ukraine.

    "NATO must maintain an open door policy, especially with regard to the countries that are strategic in terms of their nature and location," he said. "The Alliance also must always be ready to help countries that have been attacked in violation of international law.”

    The next …

  • Shoygu: NATO presence near Russian border forces us to retaliate

    The scale of NATO’s military presence and activity near Russia’s borders has caused Moscow to retaliate. This was said by the Russian Defense Minister, Sergey Shoygu, at a board meeting of the military department on the 29th of June, Radio Svoboda reported.

    “These actions by the West are undermining the strategic stability in Europe and are forcing us to take retaliatory measures, primarily in a western strategic direction,” Shoygu stated.

    He said that actions for strategic deterrence are …

  • Georgian Defense Ministry: NATO cannot ensure security in the Black Sea without the aid of Georgia

    The issue of the Black Sea’s security, which is being considered by NATO, cannot be successful without Georgia,a as expressed by the republic's Defense Minister, Tinatin Khidasheli, Interfax reports.

    "Today, NATO is actively working on the Black Sea security issue, and Georgia is participating in it. Any decision that will be adopted at the [NATO] summit in Warsaw will be made with Georgia. No matter whether Georgia is a member of NATO or not, this is the direction and challenge; we have …

  • US Ambassador in Moscow: NATO's actions are a response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine

    The United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation, John Tefft, stated that Russia has committed acts of aggression against Ukraine and all of NATO’s follow-up actions have been in response to that.

    On 27 June in an interview with Radio Svoboda, Tefft indicated that NATO is a defensive alliance. “It’s not an offensive organization,” he noted.

    According to him, NATO will remain the most effective defensive alliance.

    “The response that NATO has prepared for the summit...is a direct …

  • Lithuanian MoD: NATO fighters escorted Russian aircraft over the Baltic five times last week

    NATO jets escorted Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea on five occasions last week, BaltNews reported with reference to the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense.

    On June 23rd, NATO fighters escorted a Russian IL-20 cargo plane flying in international airspace from the Kaliningrad exclave. The aircraft was following its flight plan, but its transponder was turned off. A Russian Tu-134 cargo plane was also intercepted on Thursday for the same reason.

    On the same day, a Russian Su-27 fighter …

  • Germany’s Defense Minister calls for transparency of Russian military movements

    In her interview with Bild am Sonntag, the Minister of Defense of Germany, Ursula von der Leyen, called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization the strongest existing military alliance and called on Russia to openly report the number of its troops and its movements. “It would be an appropriate step if Russia and NATO continue to exchange information on movements and number of their troops within OSCE,” the Minister stated. Von der Leyen favored improving relations with Russia, noting that Moscow …

  • Georgian Defense Minister: Brexit does not change Georgia's relationship with the EU and NATO

    Georgian Defense Minister Tinatin Khidasheli believes that the UK’s decision to withdraw from the European Union will not affect the relationship between Georgia and the EU, Interfax-Ukraine reported. She also said that Georgia’s relationship with NATO remains unchanged.

    Commenting on the UK’s referendum, in which 52% of voters supported leaving the EU, Khidasheli said “of course this changes international politics and international relations,” but in the matter of cooperation between Georgia …