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Category Archives: NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization – The New York Times

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Apr. 24, 2014

NATOs Eastern European members are growing increasingly nervous about Russias moves and the alliances ability, or even willingness, to counter them. MORE

United States plans to carry out small ground-force exercises in Poland and Estonia; exercises are an attempt to reassure NATO's Eastern European members worried about Russia's military operations in and near Ukraine. MORE

NATO airstrike in eastern Afghanistan kills a woman and two children, again raising the issue of civilian casualties at time when both country's presidential election and future of Western troop presence there are unresolved. MORE

NATO releases satellite photographs showing a menacing force of Russian fighter jets and tanks, along with as many as 40,000 troops, near Russia's border with Ukraine; photos offer evidence of a military buildup that the West says Russia could use to invade Ukraine at any moment. MORE

United States and NATO issue stern warnings to Moscow about further intervention in Ukraine's affairs amid continuing fears of eventual Russian incursion; move comes as government in Kiev takes action against pro-Russian protesters. MORE

NATO's top commander Gen Philip M Breedlove says 40,000 troops Russia has within striking distance of Ukraine are poised to attack on 12 hours notice and could accomplish their military objectives within three to five days. MORE

NATOs foreign ministers vow to strengthen alliances military presence on territory of its Eastern European members because of Russias military intervention in Ukraine; move codifies and expands on steps alliance has already taken to protest Russia's annexation of Crimea. MORE

NATO announces that former Norwegian Prime Min Jens Stoltenberg will lead the alliance starting on Oct 1; appointment comes as United States reaffirms its commitment to the Western military alliance as a way of containing an increasingly assertive Russia led by Pres Vladimir V Putin. MORE

Pres Obama and European leaders pledge to bolster NATO alliance and vow that Russia will not be allowed to run roughshod over its neighbors, but military reality on the ground in Europe tells a different story; United States has drastically cut back its European forces from a decade ago, and European countries have struggled and largely failed to come up with additional military spending at a time of economic anemia and budget cuts. MORE

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North Atlantic Treaty Organization - The New York Times

NATO official says Russia must now be viewed as more of an enemy than a partner

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WASHINGTON After two decades of trying to build a partnership with Russia, NATO now feels compelled to start treating Moscow as an adversary, the alliance's second-ranking official said Thursday.

"Clearly the Russians have declared NATO as an adversary, so we have to begin to view Russia no longer as a partner but as more of an adversary than a partner," said Alexander Vershbow, the deputy secretary-general of NATO.

In a question-and-answer session with a small group of reporters, Vershbow said Russia's annexation of Crimea and its apparent manipulation of unrest in eastern Ukraine have fundamentally changed the NATO-Russia relationship.

"In central Europe, clearly we have two different visions of what European security should be like," Vershbow, a former U.S. diplomat and onetime Pentagon official, said. "We still would defend the sovereignty and freedom of choice of Russia's neighbors, and Russia clearly is trying to re-impose hegemony and limit their sovereignty under the guise of a defense of the Russian world."

In April, NATO suspended all "practical civilian and military cooperation" with Russia, although Russia has maintained its diplomatic mission to NATO, which was established in 1998.

The crisis over Ukraine and its implications for U.S. and NATO relations with Russia has become a major point of concern for top Obama administration officials, including Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who spoke by phone Monday to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about Russia's intentions in Ukraine. Aides said Hagel was assured that Russia has no intention of invading.

Hagel is scheduled to speak Friday at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on European security in the context of the Ukraine crisis and the deepening chill in relations with Moscow.

Vershbow said NATO, created 65 years ago as a bulwark against the former Soviet Union, is considering new defensive measures aimed at deterring Russia from any aggression against NATO members along its border, such as the Baltic states that were once part of the Soviet Union, Vershbow said.

"We want to be sure that we can come to the aid of these countries if there were any, even indirect, threat very quickly before any facts on the ground can be established," he said.

To do that, NATO members will have to shorten the response time of its forces, he said.

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NATO official says Russia must now be viewed as more of an enemy than a partner

NATO official says Russia now an adversary

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WASHINGTON NATO's second-ranking official says Moscow's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and its destabilizing actions in eastern Ukraine have compelled the U.S.-led alliance to start treating Russia as more of an enemy than a partner.

This marks a turning point in decades of effort by NATO to draw Moscow closer, says Alexander Vershbow, the deputy secretary-general of the alliance. He made the remarks to a group of reporters.

Vershbow said the alliance is considering new measures aimed at deterring Russia from any aggression against NATO member countries along its border, such as the Baltic states that were once part of the Soviet Union.

Vershbow said that among possible moves by NATO are deployment of more substantial numbers of allied combat forces to Eastern Europe, either permanently or on a rotational basis.

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NATO official says Russia now an adversary

NATO allies take over Baltic mission from Air Force

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U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Lendy Renegar, commander of the 48th Air Expeditionary Group out of RAF Lakenheath, England, hands over the ceremonial key to the Polish and British commanders as they take over responsibility for patrolling the Baltic airspace at Siauliai air base in Lithuania on Wednesday, April 30, 2014.

RAF MILDENHALL, England Three NATO nations assumed control on Thursday of a strengthened Baltic air policing mission from the U.S. Air Force amid the worsening crisis in neighboring Ukraine.

Separately, Canada is sending six interceptors to Romania as a sign of allied solidarity with its east European members bordering Ukraine and Russia.

Poland, Britain and Denmark are providing a total of 12 fighters to replace 10 F-15C Eagles from RAF Lakenheath, England, according to a NATO statement. The three nations are scheduled to operate the mission for four months.

Additionally, the French deployed four jets to Poland to replace the MiG-29s Poland sent to the Baltics, a NATO official said.

The Baltic mission normally consists of four fighters provided by a single NATO nation to serve as a rapid-reaction force to intercept unidentified or suspicious planes in or near Baltic airspace. The three Baltic nations Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania dont possess fighter jets capable of patrolling their own airspace.

Weve tripled the air presence, roughly, in the region and the purpose is to show an air presence, to demonstrate commitment to NATO solidarity and to be able to respond appropriately to any inappropriate activity by other parties, Gen. Adrian Bradshaw, NATOs deputy supreme commander, said in a press release.

Poland and the United Kingdom will fly out of Siauliai air base, Lithuania, the traditional base of the mission since its inception in 2004. Danish planes will fly out of Amari air base, Estonia, which Lakenheaths airmen recently helped certify for NATO use. The French jets will operate from the Malbork airbase in Poland, the NATO statement said.

Lakenheath initially deployed four F-15Cs and about 150 airmen for the mission in early January, but the Baltics requested additional security as Russia was moving to annex Crimea from Ukraine at the time.

The change of responsibility comes just days after NATO planes scrambled to intercept a Russian aircraft, a NATO official said in a telephone interview. The aircraft was flying over international waters on Monday, but had not filed a flight plan or used a transponder detectable by civilian air traffic control.

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NATO allies take over Baltic mission from Air Force

NATO commander: Europe concept on international borders changed after Crimea annexation

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NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe Philip Breedlove talks to journalist during a joint news conference with Portuguese Armed Forces General Chief Artur Pina Monteiro, right, at Sao Juliao de Barra fort in Oeiras, near Lisbon, Tuesday, April 29, 2014. During the conference, Breedlove talked about the current crisis situation in Ukraine among other issues. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)The Associated Press

NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe Philip Breedlove gestures as he answers a question during a news conference at Sao Juliao de Barra fort in Oeiras, near Lisbon, Portugal, Tuesday, April 29, 2014. During the conference, Breedlove talked about the current crisis situation in Ukraine among other issues. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)The Associated Press

NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe Philip Breedlove talks to journalists during a news conference at Sao Juliao de Barra fort in Oeiras, near Lisbon, portugal, Tuesday, April 29, 2014. During the conference, Breedlove talked about the current crisis situation in Ukraine among other issues. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)The Associated Press

LISBON, Portugal A high-ranking NATO official says Europe must change its thinking from the times when international borders were considered permanent because the "paradigm has clearly changed" following Russia's annexation of Crimea.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove says NATO is responding to the new and evolving military situation in Europe by increasing military maneuvers in Poland, Romania, the Baltic region and the Black Sea.

In an appearance Tuesday in Lisbon, Breedlove reaffirmed NATO's commitment to collective defense, where an attack on one member is deemed an attack on all.

The Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are increasingly worried that Russia's annexation of Crimea could lead to destabilization in their region. All have significant Russian speaking minorities.

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NATO commander: Europe concept on international borders changed after Crimea annexation

Putin: NATO Chief Rasmussen secretly taped, leaked meeting when he was Danish PM – Video

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Putin: NATO Chief Rasmussen secretly taped, leaked meeting when he was Danish PM
President Vladimir Putin at the Q A session in Moscow said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, when Danish PM, secretly taped private conversation with Putin and leaked it to the...

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Putin: NATO Chief Rasmussen secretly taped, leaked meeting when he was Danish PM - Video

NATO opens second Baltic air base in Estonia with 4 Danish fighter jets amid Ukraine crisis

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TALLINN, Estonia NATO has opened its second Baltic air base in Estonia as part of the military alliance's increased regional air policing mission during the Ukraine crisis.

Estonia's military says four Danish fighter jets arrived at the Amari air base, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of the capital Tallinn on Wednesday.

The Royal Danish Air Force F-16 planes will patrol the skies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for four months in coordination with NATO fighter jets stationed in Lithuania. After that, Germany will take over the rotational mission.

In an opening ceremony, Estonia's Prime Minister Taavi Roivas praised NATO's decision to deploy planes to the country, saying it will boost regional security.

NATO has carried out Baltic air patrols from a former Soviet base in Lithuania since 2004.

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NATO opens second Baltic air base in Estonia with 4 Danish fighter jets amid Ukraine crisis

RAF Deploys Typhoon Jets To Bolster NATO Air Policing Mission

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Thu, May 01, 2014

Four Royal Air Force Typhoons have deployed today to take part in the NATO Baltic air policing mission over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The UK fast jets will reinforce the Polish contribution to the air policing mission; a standing defensive mission undertaken by rotations of aircraft from contributing nations on a 4-month cycle.

The Defence Secretary Philip Hammond announced this to the House of Commons in March. The deployment forms part of a series of measures taken by NATO to support and reassure its eastern member states.

"In the wake of recent events in Ukraine, it is right that NATO takes steps to reaffirm very publicly its commitment to the collective security of its members," Hammond said. "As a leading member of NATO, the UK is playing a central role, underlined by todays deployment of RAF Typhoon aircraft to Lithuania. This, alongside the other action we are taking, will provide reassurance to our NATO allies in eastern Europe and the Baltic states."

As part of standing arrangements within NATO, members of the alliance without their own air policing assets are assisted by others.

The RAFs Typhoon FGR4, based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire and RAF Leuchars in Fife, is also used to provide air policing within UK airspace as part of the Quick Reaction Alert and in the Falkland Islands.

A multi-role combat aircraft, it is capable of being deployed in the full spectrum of air operations, from air policing through to high intensity conflict.

This Typhoon deployment comes 6 weeks after the UK Sentry E-3D aircraft, which is part of the NATO Airborne Warning and Control System Force, was deployed to Polish and Romanian airspace to provide additional reassurance to our allies.

(Image provided by the RAF)

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RAF Deploys Typhoon Jets To Bolster NATO Air Policing Mission


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