A U.S. Army graphic of all the exercises taking place around the Black Sea this summer. Armenia is taking part in some of them, but Azerbaijan isn't.

When NATO military exercises kick off in Georgia next week, they will include troops from the United States, Germany, Turkey, Ukraine, and Armenia. But they won't include Azerbaijan, an unexpected, last-minute dropout.

Azerbaijan also didn't participate in another set of recently concluded NATO-affiliated drills in Romania, although in past years they had participated in several previous iterations of the drill. Armenia, meanwhile, took part for the first time in the exercises, under the rubric Saber Guardian

And Azerbaijan also didn't take part in U.S./Ukraine-hosted naval exercises in the Black Sea, called Sea Breeze, in spite of earlier promises that they would. (Armenia didn't take part in these, either, possibly because they have no naval forces.)

It's not clear why Azerbaijan dropped out of the exercises in Georgia and the Black Sea. There has been no official explanation, and neither the Ministry of Defense nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to The Bug Pit's request for comment.

The exercises are all part of a huge series of NATO drills around the Black Sea this summer in which about 40,000 troops are participating. This, naturally, has aroused Russia's ire. "All these deployments, including the incessant series of exercises, create an absolutely new configuration of forces near our borders, which in a substantial way not only worsen the security situation but also present a danger, a threat to Russia," said Russia's ambassador to NATO, Alexander Grushkov.

And Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoriy Karasin accused Georgia of "aggressive escapades" and that "the exercises being conducted in Georgia with the participation of NATO soldiers do not inspire optimism and a sense of security in the region."

So it may seem unlikely that Armenia, by far Russia's closest ally in the South Caucasus and a member of Russia's anti-NATO, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), is taking part in these aggressive escapades. It's not clear in what capacity or strength they're taking part -- neither the exercise organizers nor Armenia has given any details about what sort of units it's sending.

But it's common for Armenia to send small units to NATO exercises, and otherwise cooperate in limited ways with NATO. "No doubt, the CSTO and NATO pursue different goals, but... our practice shows that it is possible that a country finds ways for cooperation in different formats to ensure its national security," President Serzh Sargsyan said earlier this year.

The more curious case is Azerbaijan. Baku cooperates with NATO as well; just last month Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov visited Brussels to discuss the country's participation in NATO's Afghanistan mission, and in May an Azerbaijani delegation went to Brussels to discuss future cooperation. Azerbaijani troops have taken part in a number of exercises in the past.

The story of these exercise dropouts has been more or less ignored by the major Azerbaijani press, but one website quoted military analyst Uzeir Jafarov as saying that Armenia's presence at Noble Partner would justify Azerbaijan staying away. (It's worth noting, though, that Armenia wasn't in the Sea Breeze exercises which Azerbaijan also dropped out of, and both Armenia and Azerbaijan took part, without incident, in the NATO Saber Guardian exercises last year.) Another article, somewhat confusing the timeline of events, suggested that "Azerbaijan is not taking part in the exercises on its own initiative, and in its absence Armenia saw its chance to finally catch NATO's eye."

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Azerbaijan, Without Explanation, Drops Out of NATO Exercises - EurasiaNet

NOVO SELO, Bulgaria, July 27, 2017 The U.S. military has stood guard in Europe and supported European security since the end of World War II. But defense leaders say its role is evolving as the role of European partner nations in regional defense preparedness grows.

The annual multinational Saber Guardian exercise showcases this trend, said Brig. Gen. Timothy Daugherty, U.S. Army Europe's deputy chief of staff for operations, who noted that the exercise is transitioning from being a "U.S.-centric" activity to a more "NATO-centric" one.

"It is a collective movement forward," he said. "I think the next phase is to make it more NATO-centric and less U.S. Army Europe-centric so that a lot of this is being driven from a NATO perspective."

Saber Guardian

Saber Guardian is an annual combat-training exercise involving U.S. Army Europe and the armed forces of NATO allies and partner nations at numerous locations in the Black Sea region. The first Saber Guardian took place in Romania in 2013 as a staff exercise, and it has grown in scope each year as more nations join and commit larger numbers of troops.

This month, more than 25,000 personnel -- 14,000 from the United States and 11,000 from 21 nations across Europe -- took part in Saber Guardian. By comparison, Saber Guardian 2016 featured nine participating nations and 2,800 troops.

Its command headquarters has grown as well, and has diversified. Daugherty said Saber Guardian operated last year with a headquarters of about 40 personnel, all of them from U.S. Army Europe. This year, the headquarters staff is around 350, and more than half are from European partner nations.

"NATO is much more receptive -- and driving the train, even -- on Saber Guardian this year," he said. "The exercise is much more NATO-centric, and a more joint and holistic view of the way NATO fights than it was last year. I think next year it will be even better."

He said he would next like to see a NATO facility serve as Saber Guardian's command headquarters and have all of the exercise's operational structures feed into it: "Instead of putting something together, let's use a framework that's already there," Daugherty said.

The general explained that the U.S. military will continue to facilitate large-scale training programs in Europe. But the programs will expand and become more Europe-driven as partner nations join and progressively take up more of the heavy lifting.

Partner Contributions

Romania, for its part, has upped its troop commitment, said Brig. Gen. Gheorghe Visan, commander of the Romanian army's 2nd Infantry Division. Romanian military leaders are striving to enhance Romania's own defense capabilities and make it a stronger regional security force in its own right, he said.

"We increased the level of ambition for this type of exercise. And we have connected it with some of our regional training exercises," Visan said. "We have to demonstrate that our army forces are able to combine and demonstrate credible deterrent and defeating capabilities."

NATO provided a major impetus for increasing Saber Guardian's ambitions last year when, following a summit in Warsaw, NATO leaders decided to establish "tailored forward presences" -- consisting of amassed forces of alliance troops -- in Romania and Bulgaria, along with "enhanced forward presences" of similar size and scope in Poland and the Baltic states. For the forces in Bulgaria and Hungary, Saber Guardian became a training ground in the skills of combining their joint forces effectively and quickly in a crisis, officials said.

"The alliance said it is important to address possible threats in the Black Sea region," said Army Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, U.S. Army Europe's commander, during a July 20 news conference at Novo Selo Training Area in Bulgaria. Hodges was present that day to witness Bulgarian, U.S., Georgian and Greek forces conduct a live-fire exercise in which helicopters, armor, artillery and infantry coordinated a mass assault.

Hodges praised the commitment of Bulgaria and every other participating nation and noted that the U.S. presence in the live-fire exercise was "actually quite small," consisting of only 14 U.S. armored vehicles amid an otherwise all-European joint combined force. European participation and firepower in Saber Guardian and other regional exercises have grown by remarkable degrees, he added.

"Frankly, even I was surprised by the way this thing has evolved. And that's what we want. The alliance is 29 member nations, not the U.S. plus a bunch of other contributors," he said.

The general added that he hopes NATO's involvement in the exercises might continue to grow in years to come. Ideally, he said, the exercises and NATO's own exercises might integrate with each other.

"I anticipate [by] next summer, we'll have learned from this one and we'll continue to get even more synchronized between national exercises and alliance exercises," Hodges said. "That's what we would all prefer."

Read more from the original source:

US, European Partners Building 'More NATO-Centric' European Defense Force - Department of Defense

SAVONLINNA, Finland (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia was ready to cooperate with neutral countries that bordered the Baltic Sea like Finland which is not part of the NATO military alliance.

Speaking on an official visit to Finland, Putin said an ongoing joint naval exercise with China in the Baltic Sea was a threat to nobody.

Putin, speaking at a news conference with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto, said Moscow's military cooperation with China was "an element of stability and security in the world".

The drill started on Tuesday. The Russian and Chinese ships, which set off from a Russian naval base near the Polish border, will practice shooting at naval and aerial targets, the defense ministry said.

Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Andrew Osborn

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Russia ready to work with non-NATO states that border the Baltic: Putin - Reuters

NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller and U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker have expressed great concern over the situation in eastern Ukraine and build-up of Russia's military presence in the annexed Crimea.

The NATO Deputy Secretary General held a meeting with the US Special Representative at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday. Ms. Gottemoeller and Ambassador Volker discussed the security situation in eastern Ukraine, Kyivs reforms, and NATOs support for Ukraine, the Alliance press service reports.

I was pleased to meet with Kurt Volker today. We agreed that the situation in eastern Ukraine and Russias military build-up in Crimea continue to be of great concern. Russia must respect the Minsk Agreements, which are vital for Ukraines security and stability, said the Deputy Secretary General.

As noted, NATO continues to provide strong political and practical support for Ukraine.

"Through ten different Trust Funds, NATO Allies have pledged almost forty million euros to support Ukraine in areas such as command and control, cyber defence and medical rehabilitation," the statement reads.

As a reminder, Ambassador Volker previously served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO from 2008 to 2009.

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Excerpt from:

NATO, US Department of State seriously concerned about situation in eastern Ukraine and Crimea - Ukrinform. Ukraine and world news

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NATO Deputy Secretary General and US Special Representative Kurt Volker hold talks on Ukraine - NATO HQ (press release)

Russias Defense Ministry has vowed to increaseits firepower in its southern regions near Ukraine and the Black Sea, in response to U.K. jets in Romania.

The Royal Air Force (RAF) currently runs patrols on behalf of NATO ally Romania, with four Typhoon jets deployed near the Romanian port city of Constanta. London made the deployment in April, just as the U.S. deployed two of the worlds most advanced warplanes, the F-22. One of the RAFs jets scrambledon Tuesday to track a group of Russian bombersflying across the Black Sea.

Related: How do the new U.S. sanctions on Russia work, and why is Europe worried?

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The tailing was at such a distance that the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed it did not even see the Typhoon, though Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on Wednesday at a conference of military officials that Russia needed to beef up measures in the region regardless.

Under these circumstances, Russia is forced to take symmetrical measures for neutralizing the emerging threat for national security, conducting actions for strategic containment and raising the battle capabilities of Russias Southern Military District, Shoigu said.

Shoigu did not say what the measures would be but usedthe recentU.S.-lead Sea Breeze drill conducted with Ukraineas a reason why Russia needed to reinforce further. NATO has repeatedly denied its limited multinational reassurance measures are intended to be aggressive towardRussia.

Over the last half a year the Southern Military District received over 600 units of combat equipment, Shoigu said, state news agency Itar-Tass reported. The battle training of the staff and the preparation of the military authority is being perfected constantly.

He indicated that the high rate of exerciseswould continue.

The Black Sea and the Southern Military District is currently one of the crucial areas for Russia, which borderstwo nations on whose territory it has deployed troopsUkraine and Georgia.

Three NATO states sit on an extensive share of the Black Sea coastline. As ties between Russia and the NATO alliance have soured over Crimea, Black Sea waters have seen a handful of tense encounters between Russian and Western personnel.

Among the more spectacular was a near miss between a U.S. aircraft and a Russian jet jumping to escort it, getting within 10 feet for the U.S. jet.

See the original post:

Russia to Raise Firepower in South to Neuter NATO Air 'Threat' - Newsweek

Several developments this week demonstrate the continued deterioration of Turkeys relationships with traditional Western allies. The most shocking of the stories began to unfold when the state-owned Anadolu News Agency disclosed classified information about the whereabouts of soldiers from the United States and Europe who are fighting ISIS. As Al-Monitor noted:

The reportrevealedcrucial information on some of the US bases and on French and American soldiers in the region. The article and a detailed map appeared in AAs English version on July 18. On July 19, the leak spread to international media outlets. The US military told the press that publishing such sensitive informationwas professionally irresponsible.

Although President Recep Tayyip Erdoans chief foreign policy advisor, Ibrahim Kalin, denied any government involvement in the revelations about secret bases, the unwillingness of the president to remove the story from the webpages his ministries control speaks volumes. The Turkish state has indirectly sanctioned the dispersal of highly sensitive information that endangers the lives of American and European soldiers.

U.S. support for the Syrian Kurds remains the proximate reason for this tit for tat undertaken by the Turkish side. But there are more fundamental factors is Erdoans turn against the West. His governments once cavalier interest in pursuing EU membership has turned to outright hostility; he has revived neo-Ottoman foreign policy goals that turn Turkey to the east and the Islamic world; and he has domestically discredited Kemalism as a governing philosophy.

These large trends portend difficulties for the functioning of Europes web of alliances. As Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty notes the Parties may by unanimous agreement, invite any other European Stateto accede Turkey will not in the near future play ball on a controversial enlargement. This reality lends credence to President Trumps often crude avowal that NATO has in some important respects become obsolete. Meanwhile a new, assertive, but not very capable power is freelancing around the already fragmented Middle East and the Caucasus. The EU, having failed to bring Turkey into the fold when it was willing, must now learn to live with a hostile and aggressive new power on its fragile southeastern frontier.

Meanwhile, in the latest development of the ongoing saga of acrimony between Germany and Turkey, NATO itself has decided to step in and de-escalate things between its two feuding member states.The current dispute, whichbegana week ago with the arbitrary detention of a German human rights activist in Turkey, has snowballed with astonishing speed.Reutersreports:

The mediation offer by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, announcedon Monday, came as Ankara itself sought to limit the economic fallout from thedamaging row with Berlin, dropping a request for Germany to help it investigate hundreds of German companies it said could have links to terrorism.

Readers may need to fight the urge to rub their eyes at that sentence. An argument over a single German detainee has caused a cascade of disputes, with the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaublethreatening to curtail investment in Turkey, and Ankara returning the favor bysubmittingto Interpol a list of 700 German companies Turkish authorities supposedly suspect of financing terrorism.Then came the further retaliatory action taken by Turkey with regard to Germanys military. The same Reuters article notes:

Adding to tensions is Turkeys refusal to let German members of parliament visit soldiers stationed at two air bases []

This has already led Germany to move troops involved in the campaign against Islamic State from Turkeys Incirlik base to Jordan. The risk of further decampments has sparked deep concern in NATO and now prompted it to intervene.

Yes, Germany is willing to move its troops out of NATO due to an inter-member political conflict which it cannot resolve. It would prefer to keep them in Jordan, a country which, on the whole, has shown itself to be a much more dependable ally in the fight against ISIS than the mercurial and self-serving Turkey.What more damming signal could there be for a defense alliance in distress than the inability of its members to coperate with each other on mutual defense?

After a few days of these increased tensions, Turkey capitulated in part, caving to economic pressure by retracting its list of terrorism-supporting companies. (It went even further to try to save face, saying the submission of the list to Interpol had arose from a simple communications problem.)

This suggests that Europe may still hold some leverage over Turkey, despite its Presidents growing unpredictability.Whatever Erdoans self-serving geopolitical machinations lead him to do, he cannot change the fact of his countrys economic interdependence with Europe.Yet the days when NATO could command the loyalty of its members, necessitating that they handle disputes with co-parties discreetly, are long past. Its ranks may continue to fill with members in name only.

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NATO(-member) in Name Only? - The American Interest

Fighter jet raced towards Moscow's TU-22 Backfire bombers off the coast of Romania

THE RAF this morning scrambled one of its fighter jets to intercept two Russian bombers in the Black Sea.

A British Typhoon raced towards Moscows TU-22 Backfire bombers as they approached Nato airspace off the coast of Romania.

PA:Press Association

The supersonic Brit jet - capable of reaching speeds of 1,500mph - was based atMihail Kogalniceanu Air Base on the western Black Sea coast.

Russia and Ukraine occupy the northern extreme of the sea.

The jets did not come close enough to see each other and the Russian aircraft departed southwards.

Wing Commander Lewis Cunningham, Officer Commanding 3(F) Squadron said It worked as we would have expected it to.

"We took down the details, ran to the aircraft and I took off within the prescribed timeline.

He added: Its satisfying. We spotted that there was something happening and then very quickly the phone call came and we were running out of the door.

Wing Commander Andrew Coe, Commanding Officer of 135 Expeditionary Air Wing based in Romania, said: This was a routine operation and is no different to what NATO aircraft do in other areas on a regular basis."

Russian and RAF jets have tracked each other several times in recent years - with Vladimir Putin's air force launching several sabre-rattling runs around the UK.

Getty Images

In February, RAF top guns intercepted two nuclear-capable Russian Blackjack bombers as they skirted the west coast of Scotland and Ireland.

On the way they were met by two of Britains supersonic Typhoon jets scrambled from two Scottish bases.

At the time ann RAF spokesperson said:We can confirm that quick reaction alert Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Coningsby scrambled to monitor two Blackjack bombers while they were in the UK area of interest.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us attips@the-sun.co.ukor call 0207 782 4368

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RAF Typhoons scrambled to see off two Russian jets racing towards ... - The Sun

Macedonia's defense minister reaffirmed her government's commitment to joining NATO and the European Union, saying in an interview that the nation's new government fully understands that success or failure is in its own hands.

"Nobody will bring it to us," Defense Minister Radmila Sekerinska told VOA's Macedonian service. "We need to work toward it, to be accountable for the progress. And the international community's support will follow."

In office since May 31, the government of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has placed its highest priority on reforms aimed at preparing Macedonia for integration into the Euro-Atlantic community. European Union leaders have declared their readiness to work with the new government, and the Zaev cabinet has responded with an agenda listing concrete reform priorities.

At the same time, there is a renewed push to resolve a long-running dispute with Greece, which has opposed NATO membership for Macedonia as long as it shares the name of a neighboring Greek province.

Political life has largely stabilized in the former Yugoslav republic since supporters of the previous conservative government stormed the parliament three months ago to try to prevent the transfer of power to Zaev's Social Democratic party.

Sekerinska was brutally attacked in front of news cameras during the incident, but she said in the interview that her government is looking to the future, not the past.

"We have to make up for the time lost during the tenure of the previous leadership. We cannot expect anybody to be more ambitious and more interested in Macedonia becoming a NATO member than Macedonia itself," she said.

Sekerinska listed media freedom, civil society, rule of law and judiciary reforms among the areas in the most urgent need of improvement. "That is a huge task, but we need to show that we are serious about NATO."

Sekerinska said she is looking forward to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's scheduled visit to the region next week as an opportunity for Macedonia, in a co-host role, to build closer ties with "the most important strategic partner."

"This is a very important sign that the United States, the key player in NATO, considers the Western Balkans a zone they can support and invest in."

Asked whether the new government is concerned about Russian influence in Macedonia, Sekerinska said its priority is to "reach out and build relations with other countries."

"However, our message to them, including to the Russian Federation, is that while we are interested in having close bilateral relations, the strategic decisions will ultimately come from the Macedonian institutions and the citizens of Macedonia," she said.

"Joining NATO and the EU is our goal, based on the broadest consensus in the country, and these questions have been decided, and will be decided, only by the citizens of this country."

As one of the top recruiting centers for the Islamic State group, Macedonia is plagued with a growing risk of terrorism and violent extremism. Sekerinska said the threat is universal and requires intelligence-sharing among the countries.

"Macedonia can certainly contribute in securing the region's stability, but to do that effectively, we need to refocus the institutions designed to fight these threats. In recent years, they were misused for political assignments, to fight the opposition, instead of working on the job they were designed to do," she said.

While acknowledging that will take time, Sekerinska said the new government is determined to become a partner in the fight against today's global threats.

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Macedonia's New Leaders Set Sights on NATO, EU Membership - Voice of America

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Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

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Reuters

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Palestinians react following tear gas that was shot by Israeli forces after Friday prayer on a street outside Jerusalem's Old City

Reuters/Ammar Awad

Ousted former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra greets supporters as she arrives at the Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand

Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha

Marek Suski of Law and Justice (PiS) (C) party scuffles with Miroslaw Suchon (2nd L) of Modern party (.Nowoczesna) as Michal Szczerba of Civic Platform (PO) (L) party holds up a copy of the Polish Constitution during the parliamentary Commission on Justice and Human Rights voting on the opposition's amendments to the bill that calls for an overhaul of the Supreme Court in Warsaw

Reuters

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Reuters

Michael Lindell ,CEO of My Pillow reacts as U.S. President Donald Trump attends a Made in America roundtable meeting in the East Room of the White House

Reuters

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People ride camels in the desert in Dunhuang, China, as stage 10 of The Silkway Rally continues

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17th FINA World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Team North Korea practice under coach supervision

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IAAF World ParaAthletics Championships - London, Britain - July 17, 2017

Reuters/Henry Browne

Workers check power lines during maintenance work in Laian, in China's eastern Anhui province

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Russia Kamaz's driver Dmitry Sotnikov, co-drivers Ruslan Akhmadeev and Ilnur Mustafin compete during the Stage 9 of the Silk Way 2017 between Urumqi and Hami, China

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Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull talks with Special Operations Command soldiers during a visit to the Australian Army's Holsworthy Barracks in western Sydney

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Reuters/Jon Nazca

People participate in a protest in front of the Sejm building (the lower house of the Polish parliament) in Warsaw, Poland. The demonstration was organized by Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD). Members and supporters of the KOD and opposition parties protested against changes in the judicial law and the Supreme Court

EPA

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker embrace before the EU-Ukraine summit in Kiev, Ukraine

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US President Donald Trump (R) and First Lady Melania Trump disembark form Air Force One upon arrival at Paris Orly airport on July 13, 2017, beginning a 24-hour trip that coincides with France's national day and the 100th anniversary of US involvement in World War I

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Iraqi boys wash a vehicle in west Mosul a few days after the government's announcement of the liberation of the embattled city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters

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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the 22nd World Petroleum Congress (WPC) in Istanbul

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US army 1st Division, US air force, US Navy and US Marines, march down the Champs Elysees, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background, in Paris during a rehearsal of the annual Bastille Day military parade

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Participants run ahead of Puerto de San Lorenzo's fighting bulls during the third bull run of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, northern Spain. Each day at 8:00 am hundreds of people race with six bulls, charging along a winding, 848.6-metre (more than half a mile) course through narrow streets to the city's bull ring, where the animals are killed in a bullfight or corrida, during this festival, immortalised in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises" and dating back to medieval times and also featuring religious processions, folk dancing, concerts and round-the-clock drinking.

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Iraqi women, who fled the fighting between government forces and Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in the Old City of Mosul, cry as they stand in the city's western industrial district awaiting to be relocated

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US President Donald Trump arrives for another working session during the G20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany

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People climb up on a roof to get a view during riots in Hamburg, northern Germany, where leaders of the world's top economies gather for a G20 summit

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A military helicopter rescues people trapped on the roof of the Ministry of Finance by an intense fire in San Salvador

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Donald Trump arrives to deliver a speech at Krasinski Square in Warsaw, Poland.

AP

A firefighter conducts rescue operations in an area damaged by heavy rain in Asakura, Japan.

Reuters

Anti-capitalism activists protest in Hamburg, where leaders of the worlds top economies will gather for a G20 summit.

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Crowds gather for the start of the San Fermin festival in Pamplona, Spain.

AFP

A member of the Iraqi security forces runs with his weapon during a fight between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in the Old City of Mosul, Iraq.

A U.S. MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile is fired during the combined military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea against North Korea at an undisclosed location in South Korea

A.P

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un looks on during the test-fire of inter-continental ballistic missile Hwasong-14

Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony following the talks at the Kremlin

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Belarussian servicemen march during a military parade as part of celebrations marking the Independence Day in Minsk, Belarus

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Ambulance cars and fire engines are seen near the site where a coach burst into flames after colliding with a lorry on a motorway near Muenchberg, Germany

Reuters

Protesters demonstrating against the upcoming G20 economic summit ride boats on Inner Alster lake during a protest march in Hamburg, Germany. Hamburg will host the upcoming G20 summit and is expecting heavy protests throughout.

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Protesters carry a large image of jailed Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo as they march during the annual pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong. Thousands joined an annual protest march in Hong Kong, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his visit to the city by warning against challenges to Beijing's sovereignty.

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Jockey Andrea Coghe of "Selva" (Forest) parish rides his horse during the first practice for the Palio Horse Race in Siena, Italy June 30, 2017

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Sweden to hold 'biggest military exercise in decades' with Nato amid fears over Russia - The Independent

international relations New York University Posted by Eileen Reynolds-NYU July 24th, 2017

President Donald Trump has said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an almost 70-year-old international organization, may be obsoleteigniting a national debate over whether the United States should continue to take a leading role in the promised defense of European nations, who some perceive to have invested insufficiently in their own militaries.

While the administration has stopped short of a pay up or else message, strong words from the president and others have led some world leaders to wonder if the days of relying on the US as an indispensable ally are over.

For many of us, mention of NATO conjures little more than a fuzzy memory from history class. But at the time of its birth, it was considered an indispensable safeguard against a looming existential threat.

Created by the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949 with nations from Western Europe and the United States and Canada, it was formed to provide a common defense against possible attacks from the Soviet Union in the early Cold War years. Over time, its membership grew from 12 to 29, with some countriessuch as Spain, Greece, and Turkeytransitioning into democracies after they became members.

But where does that leave NATO today? Michael John Williams, director of New York Universitys international relations program and the author of The Good War: NATO and the Liberal Conscience in Afghanistan (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)and NATO, Security, and Risk Management: From Kosovo to Kandahar(Routledge, 2009) discusses the intricacies of transatlantic relations and what the consequences for a weakened NATO might be.

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Is NATO 'obsolete' or still vital? - Futurity - Futurity: Research News

Two NATO warships have docked at the Ukrainian portof Odessa and will open its doors to local visitors as part of the alliances bid to show support for Ukraines ambitions to one day join the Western-led bloc.

Ukraine, once a famously neutral state, has veered towardNATO membership since its relationship with neighboring Russia collapsed after a series of land grabs by pro-Russian forces in 2014. A poll last month found that nearly56 percent of Ukrainianssupported joining the alliance.

Read More: How a Russian ally kicked the U.S. military out after receiving missile strike threat

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The U.K. Royal Navys HMS Duncan and Turkeys frigate Yildirim arrived at the Black Sea port on Monday for a three-day stay,NATO representation to Ukraine announced on Facebook.

The vessels are in Ukrainian waters following a U.S.-led drill, called Sea Breeze, in which Ukraine took part. Theirpurpose this week, however, is more symbolic. The NATO liaison officer in Ukraine, Alexander Vinnikov, has officially gone aboard the visiting vessels, whichwill be open to Ukrainians who want to get better acquainted with the navies of Kievs western partners.

Russia has repeatedly objected to nonregional forces entering the Black Sea, taking particular issue with U.S. Navy vessels.

Tensions between Russia and Ukraine are high, as violence between government loyalists and Russian-backed separatist troops in eastern Ukraine flares up every year around August.

Ukraines president, Petro Poroshenko, warned on Sunday during a call with the leaders of Russia, Germany and France that Ukraine was entering the bloodiest outburst of 2017.Nine Ukrainian soldiers had died in the previous 72 hours.

The new U.S. envoy to the Ukraine ceasefire talks, Kurt Volker, said on Monday that he was astonished by the frail state of the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and said the conflict resembled a hot war.

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NATO Shows Ukraine Support at Sea, But War in East Turns Bloody - Newsweek

Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Disputes Between Germany and Turkey Threaten to Affect NATO Mission Wall Street Journal (subscription) BRUSSELSThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization is working urgently to defuse a dispute between Turkey and Germany that threatens its operations including counterterrorism missions in the Middle East. The deepening political divide risks curtailing ... and more »

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Disputes Between Germany and Turkey Threaten to Affect NATO Mission - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

External Affairs

German Chancellor Angela Merkel greets Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the beginning of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 7, 2017. Credit: Reuters/Bernd Von Jutrczenka/File Photo

Berlin:NATOs secretary general is offering to broker a visit by German lawmakers to troops serving on a Turkish air base in an attempt to heal a rift between the two allies which is disrupting anti-Islamic State operations.

The mediation offer by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, announced on Monday, came as Ankara itself sought to limit the economic fallout from the damaging row with Berlin, dropping a request for Germany to help it investigate hundreds of German companies it said could have links to terrorism.

Germany has become increasingly worried by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogans crackdown on the Turkish opposition since a coup attempt last year concerns made more acute by the arrest this month of six human rights activists, including one German.

Adding to tensions is Turkeys refusal to let German members of parliament visit soldiers stationed at two air bases. For historical reasons, Germanys soldiers answer to parliament and Berlin insists lawmakers have access to them.

This has already led Germany to move troops involved in the campaign against Islamic State from Turkeys Incirlik base to Jordan. The risk of further decampment has sparked deep concern in NATO and now prompted it to intervene.

The secretary general has now offered to arrange a visit for parliamentarians to Konya airfield within a NATO framework, alliance spokesman Piers Cazalet said on Monday. Konya airfield is vital for NATO operations in support of Turkey and the Counter-ISIS Coalition.

With Germany Ankaras largest export market and home to a three million strong Turkish diaspora, it is in Turkeys economic interests to resolve the row. The swift deterioration in relations threatens to damage deep-rooted human and economic ties.

Close ties

Germany has warned its nationals travelling to Turkey that they do so at their own risk, and finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Erdogan was jeopardising the centuries-old partnership.

Stepping back from confrontation, Turkeys interior minister on Monday told his German counterpart that Ankaras submission to Interpol of a list of nearly 700 German companies suspected of backing terrorism had stemmed from a communications problem.

Turkey had merely asked Interpol for information regarding the exports of 40 Turkish companies with alleged links to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed for the failed putsch last July, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said. He promised that Turkey would remain a safe haven for foreign investors.

Germanys DIHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce said firms remained uncertain about doing business in Turkey, from which Germany bought $14 billion worth of goods in 2016.

I hear it a lot: if the political environment does not improve, if legal certainty is in question, then there will hardly be a recovery in new investments by German firms (in Turkey), DIHK foreign trade chief Volker Treier said.

(Reuters)

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NATO Offers to Mediate Turkey-Germany Stand-Off - The Wire

NATO has condemned aTaliban bombingMondaythat killed at least 24 civiliansin aresidential area ofKabul, Afghanistan.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for asuicide bomber whorammed his explosive-laden car into a bus carrying government employees. The explosion killed24 people and wounded 42 others, The Associated Press reported.

"This morning's Taliban bomb killing Afghan civilians in a crowded Kabul residential area is another in a string of atrocities caused by the insurgent group," reada statement fromResolute Support, aNATO-led mission to train and assist the Afghan security forces.

Kabul's police chief's spokesmanBasir Mujahed said the attack took place in a western Kabul neighborhood where several prominent politicians reside. The bombing happened as residents were heading to work and students were on their way to a nearby private high school.

"The bomber attacked at one of the busiest times of the day," the spokesman said. "There were traffic jams with people going to work and to the university and schools. Many of the shops had just opened."

The bombing is part of a string of recent attacks and comes as President Trump is deciding whether to send several thousand more U.S. troops to the country. The United States already has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan to train and assist Afghan troops in their fight against the Taliban and conducting counterterrorism missions against groups such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Defense Secretary James Mattis promised to deliver a new strategy to Congress for the 16-year-old war by mid-July but has yet to do so.

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NATO condemns latest suicide attack that kills 24 in Afghanistan - The Hill

KIEV/SEVASTOPOL, Crimea (Reuters) - The career of Sergei Yeliseyev helps to explain why Ukraine's armed forces gave up Crimea almost without a fight - and why NATO now says it is alert to Russian attempts to undermine military loyalty in its eastern European members.

His rise to become number two in the Ukrainian navy long before Russia seized Crimea illustrates the divided loyalties that some personnel in countries that once belonged to the Soviet Union might still face.

Yeliseyev's roots were in Russia but he ended up serving Ukraine, a different ex-Soviet republic, only to defect when put to the test. NATO military planners now believe Moscow regards people with similarly ambiguous personal links as potentially valuable, should a new confrontation break out with the West.

In 2014, Yeliseyev was first deputy commander of the Ukrainian fleet, then largely based in Crimea, when Russian soldiers in unmarked uniforms took control of Kiev's ships and military bases on the peninsula.

Instead of resisting, Yeliseyev quit and subsequently got a new job: deputy chief of Russia's Baltic Fleet.

Yeliseyev, now aged 55, did not respond to Reuters questions sent to him via the Russian defense ministry.

In Kiev, however, there is no doubt where his loyalties lay. "When he took an oath to Ukraine, these were empty words for him. He has always been pro-Russian," said Ihor Voronchenko, now commander of the Ukrainian navy, who once served with Yeliseyev.

In fact, the Russian soldiers were pushing at an open door in late February 2014 - Yeliseyev was just one of many to defect and almost all Ukrainian forces in Crimea failed to resist.

Russia annexed Crimea the following month, prompting a major row with the West which deepened over Moscow's role in a rebellion in eastern Ukraine that lasts to this day.

At the time, Moscow and its allies in Crimea exploited weaknesses within Kiev's military to undermine its ability to put up a fight, according to interviews conducted by Reuters with about a dozen people on both sides of the conflict.

The Russian defense ministry did not respond to questions on their accounts of the events in 2014 submitted by Reuters.

One NATO commander told Reuters that, in a re-run of the tactics it deployed in Crimea, Russian intelligence was trying to recruit ethnic Russians serving in the militaries of countries on its borders.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the commander said the alliance was particularly sensitive to the risk in countries with high concentrations of ethnic Russians, notably the Baltic states.

NATO had to guard against this, said the commander, though the risk should not be overstated because having Russian roots did not necessarily mean that a person's loyalty is to Moscow.

Officials in the Baltic states, former Soviet republics which unlike Ukraine are NATO members, play down the danger.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg likewise said he trusted the armies of the Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Still, he told Reuters: "We always have to be vigilant. We always have to develop our intelligence tools and to be able to see any attempts to try to undermine the loyalty of our forces."

Years before the Crimean annexation, a Ukrainian appointment panel appeared to drop its guard when it interviewed Yeliseyev for the deputy naval commander's post.

Yeliseyev was born near Moscow, graduated from a Soviet naval school in the Russian city of Kaliningrad in 1983 and served with the Russian Pacific fleet.

So the panel asked Yeliseyev what he would do if Russia and Ukraine went to war. He replied that he would file for early retirement, according to Myroslav Mamchak, a former Ukrainian naval captain who served with Yeliseyev. Despite this response, Yeliseyev got the job in 2006.

Mamchak did not disclose to Reuters how he knew what was said in the interview room but subsequent events bear out his account.

Relations between Russia and Ukraine dived as Kiev moved closer to NATO and eight years after his appointment, with the countries on the brink of conflict over Crimea, Yeliseyev stayed true to his word by quitting.

Russia's actions were not the only factor in the Crimean events. Ukraine's military had suffered years of neglect, there was a power vacuum in Kiev after the government was overthrown, and many Crimean residents felt more affinity with Moscow.

Still, Ukrainian service personnel with Russian ties switched sides when the annexation began and some officers pretended to put up resistance only to avoid court-martial. Moscow also intercepted orders from Kiev so they never reached the Crimean garrison.

"There was nothing spontaneous. Everything was organized and each fiddler played his role," said Mykhailo Koval, who at the time was deputy head of the Ukrainian border guard and is now deputy head of the Security Council in Kiev.

Voronchenko, who was another deputy commander of the navy at the time of the annexation, said he had received invitations to defect to Moscow's side soon after the Russian operation began.

These, he told Reuters, came from Sergei Aksyonov, who was then head of Crimea's self-proclaimed pro-Russian government, as well as from the commander of Russia's southern military district and a deputy Russian defense minister.

Asked what they offered in exchange, Voronchenko said: "Posts, an apartment ... Aksyonov offered to make me defense minister of Crimea." Neither Aksyonov nor the Russian defense ministry responded to Reuters questions about the contacts.

Voronchenko, in common with many other senior Ukrainian officers, had been in the Soviet military alongside people now serving in the Russian armed forces. He had spent years in Crimea, where Russia leased bases from Ukraine for its Black Sea fleet after the 1991 break up of the Soviet Union.

"Those generals who came to persuade me ... said that we belong to the same circle, we came from the Soviet army," he said. "But I told them I am different ... I am not yours."

Naval chief Denis Berezovsky did defect, along with several of his commanders, and was later made deputy chief of the Russian Black Sea fleet.

Many in the ranks followed suit. At one Ukrainian signals unit, service personnel were watching Russian television when President Vladimir Putin appeared on the screen.

"To my surprise, they all stood up," said Svyatoslav Veltynsky, an engineer at the unit. "They had been waiting for this." The majority of the unit defected to the Russian side.

Even those willing to resist found themselves in a hopeless position. One member of the Ukrainian border guards told Reuters how his commander had despatched their unit's ships to stop them falling into Russian hands, and ordered his men to train their rifles on anyone trying to enter their base.

However, the base's military communications were not working, having been either jammed or cut by the Russians. Isolated from his own side, and outnumbered and outgunned by Russian troops outside, the commander struck a deal with the head of a Russian special forces unit.

Pro-Russian civilians were allowed to force the base's gate without reprisals. The Ukrainians "supposedly could not do anything; you cannot shoot civilians", the member of the unit said on condition of anonymity because he is still living in Crimea and feared repercussions.

Russian troops then followed the civilians in, taking over the base and offering the unit a chance to switch allegiance to Russia. About half agreed, although the base's chief refused and was allowed to leave Crimea.

"The commander did not resist," said the unit member. "On the other hand, he did what he could under the circumstances."

Two other people involved in the annexation - a former Ukrainian serviceman now on a Russian base in Crimea, and a source close to the Russian military who was there at the time - also described witnessing similar faked confrontations.

"You have to understand that the seizure of Ukrainian military units in Crimea was just a show," said the source close to the Russian military.

NATO's Baltic members differ significantly from Ukraine. Soviet-era commanders, for instance, largely left their armed forces after the countries joined the Western alliance in 2004.

Officials also point out that Russian speakers were among the seven members of Latvia's forces to die during international deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Nevertheless, lessons have been learned from Crimea. "We learned, of course, that there was not only the issue of loyalty, but also false orders were submitted and there was a blockage ofcommunication during the Crimea operation," said Janis Garisons, State Secretary in the Latvian defense ministry.

Latvia has changed the law so that unit commanders are obliged to resist by default. But Garisons said the simplest step was taken long before the annexation, with the introduction in 2008 of vetting by the security services for "everybody who joins the armed forces, from private to general".

Additional reporting by Margaryta Chornokondratenko in KIEV, Andrius Sytas in VILNIUS, Gederts Gelzis in RIGA, David Mardiste in TALLINN, and Robin Emmott in BRUSSELS; editing by David Stamp

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Why Ukrainian forces gave up Crimea without a fight - and NATO is alert - Reuters

Last month, a Russian jet flew within five feet of a U.S. reconnaissance plane near the Baltic Sea. According to U.S. officials, the Russian Su-27 rapidly approached the U.S. RC-135 plane and acted provocatively by performing unsafe maneuvers. Russias Defense Ministry, for its part, blamed the U.S. plane for making a provocative turn towards the Su-27 while being escorted away from Russias borders. Whatever the truth about this incident, it serves as a reminder of Moscows ceaseless belligerence toward NATO.

Earlier this year, NATO reported an increase in European Quick Reaction Alert aircraft Alpha (Air Policing) launches in response to Russian military aircraft from 400 (of a total of 480) in 2014 to 780 (of a total of 807) in 2016. Admittedly, a change in the way that NATO records such events accounts for some of this increase. But there was, nevertheless, a marked increase in Russian military air activity being monitored and responded to across NATOs two Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs) in Europeat Uedem in Germany, which covers northern Europe north of the Alps, and at Torrejon in Spain, which covers southern Europe south of the Alps.

It is not just in Europe that Russian jets are buzzing the airspaces of NATO members. In April, two nuclear-capable Tu-95 Bear bombers were intercepted by two CF-18 fighter jets as they approached Canadian airspace. The following month, Russias Defense Ministry confirmed that two Tu-95 Bear bombers, flanked by two multirole Su-35 fighter jets, had been intercepted by U.S. aircraft flying over the Alaska Air Defense Zone. This was not a one-off incident. In 2014, the U.S. intercepted Russian aircraft on fifteen occasions; and since then it has averaged around ten intercepts each year.

During the Cold War, Soviet military activity in the vicinity of NATO members air space was commonplace. The point was to test out the defense systems of NATO members in the case of war. Today, the idea of war between Russia and NATO seems farfetched. So why does Russia rehearse such a scenario?

Russias military activities serve a propaganda purpose. By demonstrating that its military can come so close to the air spaces of NATO members states, with little (if any) consequence, Moscow is able to showcase its apparent strength and the alliances apparent weakness. Such activities are one of few things that allows the Kremlin to look strong at home as well as abroad.

They also serve a military purpose. Through them, Russia has been able to gain valuable information about the chain of command within the defense systems of NATO member states; the reaction times of various countries air forces and the capabilities of their pilots; and, the levels of cooperation between NATO members. Such intelligence-gathering is supplemented by the work of Russias human intelligence assets who recruit and run sources in the defense establishments of NATO countries.

Knowing how NATO members react in an emergency gives Russia crucial insights into how they will behave in war. But Russias activities are not only a test of the Wests military readiness and preparedness; they are also a test of its own abilities to meet the various threats identified by the Kremlin. The modernization of Russias military, which began in 2008, includes not only a substantial investment in arms procurement, but also an improvement of the command-and-control systems, enhanced coordination between ministries and an intense program of exercises.

There are, of course, important differences between Russias activities in North America and those in Europe. In Europe, Russian aircraft have carried ordnance and often fly with their transponders switched off or without flight plans. None of this has been reported in North America. But the type of planes involved informs some of this difference in behavior: a Su-27 fighter jet is, for example, a more effective tool to probe reactions and adopt an aggressive behavior than a slow and defenseless Tu-95 bomber.

There is little that individual NATO members can do to deter Russias aggression in the skies per se. Both Canada and the United States have a bilateral Agreement on Preventing Dangerous Military Activities with Russia, which establishes procedures to prevent the use of force in response to accidental military contacts, incidents and accidents. Other member states could pursue similar agreements with Moscow.

But Russias military activities near NATO skies should not be seen in isolation. They are part of a wider pattern of military assertiveness in the Euro-Atlantic region. So what can NATO do?

NATOs recent reassurance measures are necessary to enhance deterrence of Russian military adventurism in eastern Europe, but they should be supplemented with robust measures to mitigate the risks should an incident occur as a result of Russias aggressions near the alliances skies. These measures could include increased military-to-military communication and greater public and private messaging, as well additional diplomatic and economic incentives.

Andrew Foxall is Director of the Russia Studies Centre at The Henry Jackson Society, a London-based international affairs think-tank.

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Russia Is Testing NATO in the Skies - The National Interest Online

Last month Sweden and Finlandthe two neighbors and long-time proponents of neutralityjoined a military formation. On June 30, their defense ministers and UK defense secretary Michael Fallon signed the accession of Sweden and Finland to the Joint Expeditionary Force, a British-led outfit that also includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway. The JEF, as its known, is one of several military mini-alliances now operating in Europe. And thats good news for NATO.

The JEF is a high-readiness force tasked with quickly responding to emergencies around the world. Its also a very recent multinational formation. It was launched only two years ago and JEFs members are still adding to its capabilities. Also, it is scheduled to become fully operational next year, which means that it could deploy ten thousand troops to military or humanitarian crises.

Britain uses its expeditionary troops for another joint force, the Combined Joint Expeditionary Force, which it operates with France. The CJEF, part of the so-called Lancaster House military cooperation treaty signed by the two countries seven years ago, likewise deploys troops to crises; a recent exercise involved more than five thousand troops.

In fact, these days Europe has a host of military mini-formations. The EU operates battle groups with the same task as the JEF and CJEF forces, though those EU forces are smaller. On the day before they signed the JEF agreement, Sweden and Finlands defense ministers signed a military cooperation treaty with Germany. Germany and France, in turn, operate a joint brigade, while EU member states operate the twenty-five-year-old Eurocorps. Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania, in turn, have a joint brigade with the somewhat clunky name LITPOLUKRBRIG. Taking armed forces cooperation to a new level, Germany is integrating units from three other countriesNetherlands, Romania and the Czech Republicinto the Bundeswehr. According to Dick Zandee, a senior research fellow at Clingendael (the Netherlands Institute of International Relations) and a former head of the Planning and Policy Unit at the European Defence Agency, such smaller military groupings makes perfect sense. Clusters optimize the military cooperation between countries armed forces, he said. In terms of optimization, clusters are the only thing that works. The more member states you have, the more complicated it becomes.

But most of the countries involved in these European mini-formations are also members of NATO. That raises the question: with NATO available to defend Europe, why does the continent need more military formations? Specifically, does Europe need military formations whose capabilities are dwarfed by those of NATO? The United States armed forces alone feature some 1.3 million men and women; at the recent Saber Strike Seventeen exercise some eleven thousand troops trained in the Baltic states and Poland.

Indeed, in case of a real emergency NATO members would rely on that alliance, not on the JEF or another mini-formation. And while the JEF has supported Ebola efforts, the EUs battle groups have never been deployed despite having been fully operational for ten years. Indeed, chances are they will never be deployed because the EUs members would have to agree to deploy themand most crises are either too small or too large to be effectively addressed by 1,5002,500 soldiers. And nobody would expect the JEF or the EU battle groups to perform the same massive effort as NATOthats not their mission.

Even so, the mini-formations are extremely useful. Thats because they have two things that NATO lacks: permanent forces and a small number of members, whose armed forces are very similar in training and equipment. Additionally, the regular exercises conducted by mini-formations have a benefit in themselves: they help European armed forces integrate. The EUs battle groups may only consist of some two thousand soldiers, but constant exercises with troops from other countries they learn to operate effectively together.

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Mini-Battlegroups: How NATO Can Take On the Threats of the Future - The National Interest Online

Anubis189: "TODAY I SPOKE LATISCH", a sign of disgrace hanging on pupils in Latvia who, in their native land, speak in their native language in the times of the forced Russianization of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century in imperial barbarian Russia. The native language was banned not only at school but also on the street, in the shop, at the station. The exhibition is at the Latvian National-Historical Museum in Riga. The policy of forced Russianization in the Russian Empire covers many lands and peoples. Among them are also Poles, Finns, Estonians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and others. The most successful is in Belarus and, of course, today's Russia itself. Lithuania is freed from Russian oppression after the end of the First World War. There followed a war of independence with the Bolshevik hordes in 1918-1919, which the Lithuanians earned. In 1920, the state was recognized by the international community. Moscow re-invested Lithuania in 1940, along with other Baltic states, when Europe divided with the Nazis (Molotov-Ribbentrop pact of 1939). The most black period in Lithuanian history begins. On June 15, 1941, a massive deportation began. 23 000 Lithuanians were arrested and killed in days until June 22, when Germany attacked the USSR. Still Unfinished World War II Moscow is starting a new series of violence. In 1944, more than 120,000 Lithuanians were deported (30 per cent perished), 180,000 were arrested and jailed. Altogether Lithuanians detained in prisons and camps are over 50,000 in the years until 1953 when Stalin died. During this time the policy of rusification was re-energized. Lithuanian territory has been settled by Russians. Such is the policy of the USSR and, in the rest, states of the Baltic States, Ukraine, the Caucasus and others. Khrushchev condemned Stalin's repression and promised a return to the deportees. In fact, in Khrushchev's time, the policy of rusification, mostly driven through the education system, has been intensified. The return of deportees turns out to be impossible for many. For example, finding a home and working back home was very difficult for someone who had already been tagged with a regime chase. After the collapse of the USSR, Lithuania embarked on a policy of de-rusement, causing Kremlin's outrageous outbursts, but no remorse.

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NATO - Google+ - plus.google.com

Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican and former U.S. senator from Texas, appears on track to win Senate confirmation as President Trumps choice for U.S. ambassador to NATO, the Texas Tribune reported this week.

Hutchison, 74, whom Trump nominated in June, faced questioning at a hearing Thursday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and appeared to have bipartisan support.

Her backers included Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, both R-Texas, and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who was Hillary Clintons running mate in the 2016 presidential election.

Few statesmen have the qualifications, the relationships, and gravitas that Senator Hutchison brings to this position, Cruz told the panel. After years of inadequate resourcing, Kay led an effort in the Senate to rebuild our military and helped prepare it to meet the new, more stringent demands of the global war on terror.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks in Washington, D.C., on October 11, 2013. (2013 Getty Images)

Cruz succeeded Hutchison in the Senate, where the nominee served from 1993 to 2013.

Added Kaine: Kay Bailey, Im so excited youre the nominee. Your nomination sends a signal the NATO relationship is an important one.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks Aug. 1, 2016 in Richmond, Virginia. (2016 Getty Images)

Hutchison used part of her testimony Thursday to assure committee members that, if confirmed to represent the U.S. in the Western military alliance, she intended to take a tough stance on Russia, the Tribune reported.

We are beefing up defenses for an aggressive Russia," she told the committee, adding that she backs members of Congress who are considering new sanctions against Russia in response to its cyberattacks.

Several senators said they found Hutchisons positions reassuring, given concerns on Capitol Hill about Trumps relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Tribune reported.

In her testimony,Hutchison said it was likely that Russia interfered in the 2016 American elections, a conclusion that aligns with a consensus among the country's intelligence agencies.

If confirmed for the ambassadorship, Hutchison will likely have to chart a path between the longtime U.S. commitment to the alliance and Trumps criticism of other member countries, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The president has frequently charged NATO members with failing to pay their fair share of the organizations defense costs.

In June, Trump opted not to reaffirm Americas commitment to Article V of the NATO treaty, which assures that all member countries will come to each others defense in case of an attack.

But Hutchisons remarks seemed designed to reassure senators that she believed in NATOs mission, the Morning News reported.

I am a strong supporter of this historic defense and security alliance that was formed to protect freedom for all of its members, united and indivisible, Hutchison said.I look forward to the Senate confirmation process.

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Hutchison, Trump's pick for NATO envoy, seems headed for ... - Fox News