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Harper talks Ukraine, ISIL with NATO chief

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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Ottawa, Monday March 23, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

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By Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper and NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg met behind closed doors Monday to discuss the war in Iraq and the crisis in Ukraine.

The meeting came just a day ahead of the planned introduction of a parliamentary motion to extend and expand Canada's combat mission against extremists in Iraq and possibly Syria.

Sources tell The Canadian Press that Harper will introduce the motion Tuesday morning.

Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway who became the alliance's secretary general last year, said the alliance is engaged in the troubled region despite having no formal role in the U.S-led coalition.

"NATO is also doing lots to fight and to try to work with partners in the region to stabilize them," Stoltenberg said during a photo-op with Harper, Defence Minister Jason Kenney and Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson ahead of the meeting.

"Because if you are able to make the Middle East more stable, we will become more secure."

Stoltenberg praised Canada's contribution in Iraq and to NATO's reassurance missions in eastern Europe, which have included fighter jets, the deployment of a frigate and ground troops on a training exercise.

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Harper talks Ukraine, ISIL with NATO chief

Harper to meet with NATO secretary general

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By The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is making his first visit to Canada this week, with the subject of how to address rising tensions with Russia likely to feature high on the agenda.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is scheduled to meet with Stoltenberg on Monday, and a Canadian source close to the meetings said the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) would be a major topic of discussion.

Harper plans to ask the House of Commons to extend and expand Canada's military involvement this week.

But NATO has had no formal role to date in fighting ISIL. Russian President Vladmir Putin's recent moves, including mobilizing 45,000 northern troops for military exercises last week, have been the alliance's major preoccupation.

On Sunday, NATO's supreme allied commander Gen. Philip Breedlove told a news conference that the west should consider sending defensive weapons into Ukraine. The UN has said 6,000 people have died in the country over the past year.

The United States has been actively considering sending lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine to help that country defend itself against Russian-backed fighters. Germany has urged caution, warning that supplying Ukraine could escalate tensions.

Defence Minister Jason Kenney has dropped broad hints that Canada could be poised to provide Ukraine with more military assistance. He has said cabinet is considering whether Canada should join the U.S. and Britain in a military training mission to help Ukrainian troops.

Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian cabinet minister who took up the post last October, has warned that snap Russian military exercises and less communication between Russia and NATO could have dire consequences.

"It is important we keep the channels for military communication open to have as much transparency as possible to avoid misunderstandings and to make sure that incidents don't spiral and get out of control," Stoltenberg told the Guardian newspaper last week.

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Harper to meet with NATO secretary general

putin ww3 2015 – Russia NATO – Russia Ukraine War Documentary – Video

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putin ww3 2015 - Russia NATO - Russia Ukraine War Documentary
putin ww3 2015 - Russia NATO - Russia Ukraine War Documentary https://youtu.be/eY2SYYPNeEs The Russian Military Forum: Russia #39;s Hybrid War Campaign: Implications for Ukraine and Beyond I ...

By: History Channel

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putin ww3 2015 - Russia NATO - Russia Ukraine War Documentary - Video

Serbia | Demonstration against NATO partnership plan and in support of Russia | Eng. Subs – Video

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Serbia | Demonstration against NATO partnership plan and in support of Russia | Eng. Subs
https://www.youtube.com/user/VoxPopuliEvo Vox Populi Evo - Voice of The People source: https://youtu.be/LyWSe2pHN7s Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/Voxpopulievo Our Twitter: ...

By: Vox Populi Evo

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Serbia | Demonstration against NATO partnership plan and in support of Russia | Eng. Subs - Video

Putin WW3 2015 – Russia NATO – Wealth Inequality in the World – Video

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Putin WW3 2015 - Russia NATO - Wealth Inequality in the World
Putin WW3 2015 - Russia NATO - Wealth Inequality in the World https://youtu.be/kMl9sqncymI Global Wealth Inequality - What you never knew you never knew I created this video with the YouTube...

By: History Channel

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Putin WW3 2015 - Russia NATO - Wealth Inequality in the World - Video

Latvia: NATO troops shoot Howitzers as part of ‘Summer Shield’ drills – Video

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Latvia: NATO troops shoot Howitzers as part of #39;Summer Shield #39; drills
The final day of NATO #39;s #39;Summer Shield #39; drills kicked-off at Camp Adazi in Latvia, Tuesday, with soldiers employing heavy artillery, including the M777 Howitzer 155 mm artillery pieces. ----------...

By: RuptlyTV

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Latvia: NATO troops shoot Howitzers as part of 'Summer Shield' drills - Video

Meet NATOs new rapid-reaction task force, now in initial training

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As Russian actions across eastern Europe alarmed countries last year, NATO officials at a summit in Wales decided to take a new step: Forming a new military force designed to respond swiftly in the face of threats.

The Very High Readiness Joint Task Force will include about 5,000 troops primarily from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, with maritime, special operations and aviation units. Its meant to give the rest of the 30,000 service members in NATOs response force time to mobilize.

The high-readiness force will take a major step this month with part one of Operation Noble Jump. Running from April 1 to April 10, the exercise includes missions in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, and marks the first time that the forces will practice rapid orders to move, NATO officials said.

NATO released this video Thursday to help explain it:

Another part of Noble Jump will occur from June 9 to June 20 at the Zagan Military Training Area in Poland, officials said. It will be followed by Trident Juncture 2015, a military exercise in Italy, Spain and Portugal from Oct. 21 to Nov. 6.

U.S. troops have trained with the NATO Response Force, established in 2003, for years. In Latvia, for example, U.S. Marines joined troops from Lithuania, Luxembourg, Canada and Germany last month as part of a five-day training assignment. The Marines were part of the Black Sea Rotational Force, which cycles through the Baltic region regularly for training assignments on Russias western flank.

Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, the commander of U.S. European Command and supreme allied commander of NATO operations, has said repeatedly that the whole NATO Response Force needs to be ready. He said at a forum in Brussels last month that NATO isnt just establishing the high-readiness task force, but also working to speed up how the rest of the response force moves.

Breedlove told the House Armed Services Committee in February that Europe will be the primary contributor of land forces for the high-readiness task force, but the United States must contribute some troops to help with cohesiveness.

Dan Lamothe covers national security for The Washington Post and anchors its military blog, Checkpoint.

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Meet NATOs new rapid-reaction task force, now in initial training

New low in Russia-NATO relations: Analysts

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MOSCOW: Since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, relations between Moscow and NATO have dramatically worsened. The Kremlin has threatened a range of responses if NATO moves more forces into Lithuania, Latvia or Estonia.

Mr Evgengy Volk, a political analyst, said: "I believe that at present, the relations between Russian and NATO are at the worst point since the end of the Cold War. I believe that during the Cold War, the relationship was actually sometimes better."

Since early March, NATO warships have participated in naval drills in the Black Sea. The US has also delivered over 120 armoured units, including tanks, to Latvia in March.

But according to the NATO's Secretary-General, Russian military flights close to alliance members' airspace in Europe were intercepted more than 400 times last year.

In mid-December last year, a Russian military jet with its location determining transponders switched off nearly collided with a passenger plane over Sweden.

"I think that the reality is that when youre flying military aircraft around Europe with the transponders turned off, theres always a danger of another black swan event," said political analyst Chris Weafer. "So long as these exercises are continuing, theres always the potential for another accident that can also negatively impact the situation.

Earlier in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Northern Fleet onto full combat alert in a 'snap readiness exercise' in the Arctic as the US and several Eastern European NATO countries conducted a series of military exercises near Russia's border.

Russia has been spending more money on its military and has been boosting military capabilities which were weakened during the 1990s. When Vladimir Putin became president in 2000, Russia spent more than US$9 billion on its military. This has since risen 10 times and is likely to increase again this year despite a sluggish economy.

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New low in Russia-NATO relations: Analysts

US military parade is provocation, another aggressive step by US, NATO – Video

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US military parade is provocation, another aggressive step by US, NATO
A US army convoy rolls through Eastern Europe and gets a cold reception in Prague as anti-NATO activists protest against the parade of military hardware. Richard Becker from the anti-war Answer...

By: RT

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US military parade is provocation, another aggressive step by US, NATO - Video

Russia reportedly issues new threat to NATO over forces in Baltics

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March 30, 2015: A supporter shakes hands with a US army soldier as their convoy arrives in Prague, Czech Republic. The 'Dragoon Ride' convoy started from Estonia and passed through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland before entering the Czech Republic on a return journey to a German base. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Russia reportedly has made a new threat to begin "destabilizing actions" in the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania if NATO moved more forces into those countries.

If the Russian threat is carried out, it could represent the greatest challenge to the 28-member military alliance's doctrine of mutual self-defense since its founding in 1949.Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania joined NATO simultaneously in 2004.

Moscow's position was communicated to U.S. officials by Russian generals at a meeting in Germany last month, according to The Times of London, which claimed to have seen notes on the meeting made by an American participant. Most notably, the paper reported that Russian representatives threatened a "spectrum of responses from nuclear to non-military" to NATO troop movements in the Baltics.

Western security officials say that the possible actions Moscow could be planning include cyberattacks or civil disturbances involving ethnic Russians in all three countries.Similar demonstrations were reported ahead of the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine last year.

The Times reported that Russia warned that "the same conditions that existed in Ukraine and caused Russia to take action there" exist in the Baltic republics. However, the Times reported that the note suggested that Russia would not "[inject] troops and heavy weapons" into the region," but would favor "other tools."

The note adds that Russia would "hope slowly to entice those Russian populations towards Russia without giving Nato a pretext to deploy troops."

If NATO does respond to Russian activity in the region, the document says, Moscow would consider it to be "a potential co-aggressor against Russian-speaking minorities in Baltic states."

Western officials have been concerned that Russian president Vladimir Putin would attempt to bring the Baltics closer to Moscow's sphere of influence since the annexation of Crimea. Last month, a convoy of U.S. troops crisscrossed Eastern Europe in an effort to reassure allies.

The convoy was greeted warmly in the Baltics as well as in Poland and the Czech Republic, despite threats to block its path by pro-Russian activists on Facebook and in the media.

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Russia reportedly issues new threat to NATO over forces in Baltics


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