NATO Saber Strike exercises to begin in Latvia
NATO's Saber Strike multinational exercises, in which more than 2,000 soldiers from eight countries will take part, will start in Latvia on Saturday and will last until June 15th.
Saber Strike is held annually, and involves joint exercises of ground and air troops under the command of U.S. forces in Europe. Servicemen from Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, Norway, Great Britain, Poland, Slovakia and the USA will participate this year.
As stated by the Latvian Defense Ministry, the goal of the exercises is to improve regional stability and security, strengthen the effectiveness of partners’ military, and improve interaction between the armed forces of NATO member countries.
NATO regularly conducts military exercises in the territory of the Baltic States. According to information published on the Alliance's website, at least 16 international and national exercises will take place in the territory of the Baltic countries in 2017.
On April 17-30, 2017, Summer Shield XIV multinational NATO exercises were held in Latvia. More than 1,200 soldiers from Latvia, the United States, Bulgaria, Estonia, Canada, Lithuania, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia, Germany and Sweden took part in the exercises.