NATO Secretary General with Prime Minister of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 11 MAR 2015
Joint press point with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Prime Minister of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Gruevski. Held 11 March 2015, at NATO Headquarters in ...
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MidPoint | Col. Derek Harvey discusses Russia rattling NATO ships during training exercises
The Global Initiative on Civil Society Conflict director who also served as advisor to General David Petraeus and is a former intelligence officer joins Midpoint to discuss the latest with...
By: NewsmaxTV
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MidPoint | Col. Derek Harvey discusses Russia rattling NATO ships during training exercises - Video
NATO boosting tangible support for members fearful of Russia
American Stryker armoured fighting vehicles rolled alongside the Estonian Army on the Baltic republic #39;s Independence Day, Feb. 24th. In the city of Narva, at the border with Russia, some 100...
By: euronews (in English)
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NATO boosting tangible support for members fearful of Russia - Video
Sasa Kavic | Reuters
An Italian sailor from the frigate "Alieso" removes a cover from a cannon in the Black Sea port of Varna, Bulgaria, March 9, 2015.
"[NATO] feels more highly relevant to contemporary challengesmore so than it has been since the end of the Cold War," said Kathleen McInnis, a NATO and coalition warfare expert at Chatham House, a London-based policy institute. She explained that despite geopolitical worries that pervade much of Europe, many member states have struggled to make increased defense spending politically palatable.
Problems with military funding have plagued the alliance for years, but they are becoming more serious as threats on the periphery of Europe grow.
"The geopolitical reality surrounding Europe and surrounding NATO is changing so much, it's not clear that NATO members can waffle their way through this again," McInnis explained.
Read More NATO: CNBC explains
An agreement struck during the NATO summit in Wales last September reaffirmed members' commitment to spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense. The declaration said that NATO countries already meeting that spending levela group that included only the United States, United Kingdom and Estoniawill continue to do so. And it said that nations under that 2 percent bar will halt spending declines and move toward the guideline within a decade.
Although the 2 percent level may seem arbitrary, it is "probably the absolute minimum modern countries can pay" in order to maintain adequate security, according to Anthony Cordesman, the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
But, as the European Leadership Network, a U.K.-based think tank, noted in a recent paper, at least six countries in NATO are expected to decrease their military spending: the U.K., Germany, Canada, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria.
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Sasa Kavic | Reuters
An Italian sailor from the frigate "Alieso" removes a cover from a cannon in the Black Sea port of Varna, Bulgaria, March 9, 2015.
"[NATO] feels more highly relevant to contemporary challengesmore so than it has been since the end of the Cold War," said Kathleen McInnis, a NATO and coalition warfare expert at Chatham House, a London-based policy institute. She explained that despite geopolitical worries that pervade much of Europe, many member states have struggled to make increased defense spending politically palatable.
Problems with military funding have plagued the alliance for years, but they are becoming more serious as threats on the periphery of Europe grow.
"The geopolitical reality surrounding Europe and surrounding NATO is changing so much, it's not clear that NATO members can waffle their way through this again," McInnis explained.
Read More NATO: CNBC explains
An agreement struck during the NATO summit in Wales last September reaffirmed members' commitment to spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense. The declaration said that NATO countries already meeting that spending levela group that included only the United States, United Kingdom and Estoniawill continue to do so. And it said that nations under that 2 percent bar will halt spending declines and move toward the guideline within a decade.
Although the 2 percent level may seem arbitrary, it is "probably the absolute minimum modern countries can pay" in order to maintain adequate security, according to Anthony Cordesman, the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
But, as the European Leadership Network, a U.K.-based think tank, noted in a recent paper, at least six countries in NATO are expected to decrease their military spending: the U.K., Germany, Canada, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria.
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NATO ships from six countries have commenced exercises off the coast of Bulgaria in the Black Sea, 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Russian-held Crimea. The training, which started Tuesday and will last a little over two weeks, comes as a Russian officials say they have the right to position nuclear weapons in the peninsula that was annexed from Ukraine last March.
"I don't know if there are nuclear weapons there now. I don't know about any plans, but in principle Russia can do it," said Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the Russian Foreign ministry's department on arms control, according to the Interfax news agency.
Ships from the United States, Canada, Italy, Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria are taking part in the maneuvers near the Bulgarian port of Varna. Exercises will include anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare as well as general preparedness training.
U.S. Rear Adm. Brad Williamson will lead the operation onboard U.S. guided missile cruiser USS Vicksburg.
The training and exercises we will conduct with our allies in the Black Sea prepares us to undertake any mission NATO might require to meet its obligations for collective defense,said Williamson on the alliances Maritime Commandwebsite.
This particular exercise comes at a time of heightened tensions between the alliance and Russia, which NATO accuses of assisting pro-Russian forces in the eastern Ukraine war since it began in April. While a ceasefire has been in place for almost one month since coming into force on Feb. 15, fighting between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian forces has hardly stopped. However, news that rebels were withdrawing heavy weapons from the front has given fresh hope that the ceasefire eventually maystick.
In the face of accusations that the NATO Black Sea exercises are hostile toward Russia, NATO countered that alliance ships regularly visit the Black Sea for training.
"NATO regularly deploys ships to the Black Sea for maritime awareness and training. This scheduled deployment, given Russia's continued assertiveness, carries an additional message of reassurance to allies in the region,"a NATO official told Reuters.
However, Russias envoy to NATO, Aleksandr Grushko, previouslyhas said that Moscow would take necessary countermeasures if the alliance continued its military buildup in the region.
Since the annexation of Crimea and the war in east Ukraine, NATO has increased its activities significantlyin Eastern Europe, centered around a deployment of troops and equipment known as Operation Atlantic Resolve, across the Baltic states and down to the Black Sea.
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NATO Begins Exercises In Black Sea, As Russia Says It Can Deploy Nuclear Weapons To Crimea
2015 WW3 Update: Russian SU-30 Fighters practice strikes on NATO warships !
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2015 WW3 Update: Russian SU-30 Fighters practice strikes on NATO warships ! - Video
Ghani: Afghan army continues operation against Taliban without NATO assistance
The Afghan president says the army will continue an operation against the Taliban militants which is underway without the NATO assistance. Ashraf Ghani told ...
By: PressTV News Videos
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Ghani: Afghan army continues operation against Taliban without NATO assistance - Video
05 03 2015 Ukrainian crisis news Latest news of Ukraine, Donbass, US, NATO, Crimea HD
News of America today 05 03 2015 Ukrainian crisis news Latest news of Ukraine, Donbass, US, NATO, Crimea HD The latest news of America FRIENDS, SUBSCRIBE FOR News of America And be IN ...
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05 03 2015 Ukrainian crisis news Latest news of Ukraine, Donbass, US, NATO, Crimea HD - Video
"Trieste is outside Italy, EU and NATO". If so, what about tax and immigration rules?
Interview with Silvia Verdoglia, secreterary of Free Trieste Movement, which aims to restore the neutral state (under U.N. control) created in 1947 by the Peace Treaty signed in Paris. If so,...
By: Paolo Zeriali
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"Trieste is outside Italy, EU and NATO". If so, what about tax and immigration rules? - Video
NATO hvitajad lendamas le Viljandi jrve naistepeval 8.mrtsil 2015
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NATO hvitajad lendamas le Viljandi jrve naistepeval 8.mrtsil 2015 - Video
Stop-NATO Stop and Search
https://theaccidentalacnarchist.wordpress.com/2015/03/08/stop-nato-stop-and-search/ Newport, Wales stop Nato Demo A mini-bus taking legal observers and demonstrators from the peace camp...
By: TheAccidentalAnarchist
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Exclusive Interview: NATO General Breedlove says Russian army still in Ukraine despite ceasefire
Throughout the conflict in east Ukraine between Russian-backed militants and Ukrainian forces, NATO has been one of the most vocal critics of Russia #39;s aggression in the Donbas. Even after the...
By: UKRAINE TODAY
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NATO patrol ships drop anchor in Bulgaria prior to Black Sea drills
Six NATO patrol ships entered the Bulgarian port of Varna to take part in a joint training operation with Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. COURTESY: RT #39;s RUPTLY video agency, NO RE-UPLOAD, NO...
By: RT
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NATO patrol ships drop anchor in Bulgaria prior to Black Sea drills - Video
World Conqueror 2 NATO 2: Red Shadow part 3
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Russian Jets Run Attack Scenarios on NATO Ships
Russian fighter jets have been using NATO ships in the Black Sea as target practice to run attack scenarios, a situation that NATO military officials say they are aware of and prepared...
By: samuel ezerzer
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NATO Flexes Military Muscle In Europe, Over 100 Armored Vehicles Roll Into Latvia
http://www.undergroundworldnews.com Latvia has confirmed more than 120 armored units, including tanks, have been delivered by the US. According to the Latvian Ministry of Defense, these include...
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NATO Flexes Military Muscle In Europe, Over 100 Armored Vehicles Roll Into Latvia - Video
A Turkish soldier stands guard in a Black Sea port ahead of a Nato naval exercise. Photograph: Sasa Kavic/Reuters
Natos Black Sea members Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey joined the US, Canada, Germany and Italy in a multinational naval exercise just across the water from the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia last year.
The naval rapid reaction force in the Black Sea drills consists of a US flagship, the guided missile cruiser USS Vicksburg, and ships from the six other participating states.
Nato has held a series of exercises in eastern Europe since the Russian armys move into the region to reassure members jittery about Russian intentions in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.
The training will reportedly include simulated anti-air and anti-submarine warfare exercises, as well as simulated small boat attacks and basic ship handling manoeuvres.
Russian exercises
Last week, Russias ministry of defence said its forces had begun large-scale military exercises in southern Russia and in disputed territories on Russias borders, including the Crimea region.
Relations between Russia and the West are at their most strained since the Cold War. The Ukrainian government and the West accuse Russia of directing a separatist assault in eastern Ukraine with its own troops and weapons. Russia denies those accusations.
Once a close ally of the Soviet Union, Bulgaria joined Nato in 2004 and is one of six eastern European countries that will host new command units staffed with national and Nato soldiers, that are being set up in response to the Ukraine crisis.
US training
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Defence Secretary Michael Fallon tells of threat to Latvia and Lithuania Mr Putin is as great a threat to Europe as Islamic State, saysMr Fallon Warns he continues to 'test us' with submarines near British territory
By Larisa Brown, Defence Reporter For The Daily Mail In Sierra Leone
Published: 19:50 EST, 18 February 2015 | Updated: 21:58 EST, 19 February 2015
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Nato is getting ready to fight back against Russian aggression as it poses a real and present danger to the Baltic States, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said yesterday.
He told of the threat to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia as Vladimir Putin continues to test us by deploying submarines and warplanes near British territory.
Warning of a new Cold War, he also said the UK must renew Britains nuclear capabilities as Russia steps up its own defences but denied suggestions of an arms race.
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Nato prepared to fight back against 'danger' from Vladimir Putin
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany High-level NATO leaders met this week at Ramstein to consider the future of the alliances ground forces in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine and events in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization-LANDCOM Corps Commanders Conference drew more than 140 participants from nearly every country in the 28-member alliance, including NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove.
He and Army Lt. Gen. John Nicholson Jr., the commander of NATO Allied Land Command, spoke of the broader security environment facing NATO post-Afghanistan and the challenges ground forces, in particular, must address to hone and ready a land component that could respond to an international crisis at a moments notice.
We are adapting to some of the most significant changes to the security environment here in Europe since the Cold War, Breedlove said, and I am pleased to say that NATO is adapting as rapidly as its 21st Century challenges are also evolving.
Breedlove said NATOs land forces headquarters established in 2012 at Izmir, Turkey, to ensure the interoperability of NATO ground forces is focused on matching our readiness to the environment and working with nations on contingency planning in support of NATOs readiness action force, as outlined at the pivotal NATO Wales Summit last fall. Interoperability has been a constant, if elusive, goal for the alliance since the early 1950s.
This is significant, as this planning will reduce the go-to show time needed between alerting forces and getting them to the right place at the right time, Breedlove said.
At the Wales summit in September, allied leaders approved a response plan that addresses challenges posed by Russia and threats emanating from the Middle East and North Africa.
Neither Nicholson nor Breedlove mentioned Ukraine or Russia on Tuesday. But in speaking about collective defense, Nicholson mentioned the threat of so-called hybrid warfare, which NATO officials have accused Russia of employing in Ukraine, unnerving NATOs eastern members.
NATOs land forces would be one element of any collective defense measure, including if Article 5 were invoked. Article 5 is the cornerstone of the military alliance, which commits each member to consider an armed attack against one member state to be an armed attack against them all.
Nicholson said his command is focused on our own ability to respond to the political guidance that we receive.
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NATO country leaders meet to hone response to future threats