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NATO Will Set Up Commands in Nervous Eastern Europe

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BRUSSELS NATO defense ministers are expected to agree next week to set up command units, staffed with national and NATO soldiers, in six Eastern European allies as part of a new strategy in response to the Ukraine crisis, NATO's chief said on Friday.

Creating the units in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the three Baltic countries is one of the most concrete steps NATO has taken to show that the alliance will protect its eastern allies, some of which are nervous about Russian intentions following Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg denied that the creation of the units could be considered provocative by Russia. "It is completely within all our international obligations and what we are doing is defensive and it is proportionate," he told Reuters in an interview.

The posting of small numbers of NATO soldiers at existing bases in eastern European countries falls short of requests by Poland to have a large NATO base on its soil but creates a symbolic NATO presence and would help the alliance to reinforce the countries rapidly in a crisis.

A NATO diplomat said the units were expected to consist of 40-50 people, split roughly equally between soldiers from the host nation and those from other NATO allies. The units will organize exercises and plan for NATO reinforcement if required.

First published January 30 2015, 9:13 AM

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NATO Will Set Up Commands in Nervous Eastern Europe

NATO Deputy Secretary General on Planned Training Center in Georgia

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Despite Russias very negative reaction towards planned joint Georgia-NATO training center, the alliance is firm in resolve to go ahead with this plan and have the facility in Georgia before the end of this year, NATO Deputy Secretary General, Alexander Vershbow, said in Tbilisi.

Setting up of a joint training and evaluation center in Georgia is part of that substantial package, offered to Georgia by NATO at its summit in Wales in September.

During his two-day visit to Georgia, the NATO deputy secretary general also toured the Vaziani training range outside Tbilisi on January 30, which is one of the potential locations for the planned joint training center. Vershbow said that Vaziani is one of the strong candidates, but there are some other options as well. An assessment team from NATO is expected to visit Georgia tentatively in February that will look into different possibilities in order to pick the location for the planned training and evaluation center, he said.

Speaking to an audience at the Tbilisi-based think-tank, Atlantic Council of Georgia, Vershbow said that NATO and Georgia have yet to flesh out the goals and purposes of the center.

He said that it has to be determined whether the focus will be primarily on command post exercises or there will also be capacities for field exercises with participation of troops from multiple countries. The hope is that it will be the latter, Vershbow said.

He also said that the centre could host live and simulated trainings and certification for allied and partner military units, in particular for units committed to the NATO Response Force, and it could also host exercises and training in support of NATOs Connected Forces initiative.

Vershbow said that the training and evaluation center will be the most visible element of a NATO presence in Georgia and also is the most visible element of the substantial package of cooperation agreed at the Wales summit.

He also said that the substantial package of cooperation contains all the tools necessary for Georgia to meet its membership aspirations.

Its implementation, Vershbow said, requires important political and financial commitments from both NATO and Georgia.

But we have already made good progress in finding the necessary resources, he said, adding that the work is expected to be further advanced when NATO and Georgian defense ministers meet in the NATO-Georgia Commission in Brussels on February 5.

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NATO Deputy Secretary General on Planned Training Center in Georgia

NATO Secretary General with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, 29 JAN 2015 – Video

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NATO Secretary General with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, 29 JAN 2015
In talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin on 29 January 2015, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO would continue its strong political and practical support for Ukraine....

By: NATO

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NATO Secretary General with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, 29 JAN 2015 - Video

NATO to Set Up Command Centers on Eastern Flank

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By Dow Jones Business News, January 30, 2015, 07:15:00 AM EDT

BRUSSELS--NATO will establish command centers in six of its eastern countries in coming months, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday, part of a beefed-up response to Russian aggressiveness.

The outposts will form a chain of potential command centers for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's already announced new rapid-response force of roughly 5,000 troops, whose details are to be finalized at a meeting next week of NATO defense ministers.

The centers also will provide a link between NATO and the armed forces of the six countries where they will be located--Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Mr. Stoltenberg announced the new centers at a news conference in Brussels, where he also urged NATO allies to spend more on defense to counter Russia's military budget. Mr. Stoltenberg also said he would meet with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in the sidelines of a security conference in Munich in two weeks.

"Especially when times are difficult, as they are now, it is important to meet and discuss also difficult issues," Mr. Stoltenberg said.

The command centers are intended partly as a warning to Russia and a reassurance to NATO allies who have become increasingly jittery following Moscow's aggressive actions in Ukraine and elsewhere.

The creation of the spearhead rapid-response force, designed to mobilize within two days in case of a belligerent move by an adversary, is the highest-profile move by NATO to bolster its defenses in the aftermath of Russia's takeover of Crimea and its incursions into eastern Ukraine, which Moscow denies.

"This will be the biggest reinforcement of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War," Mr. Stoltenberg said.

Each command center will likely be staffed by about 50 military personnel from various NATO countries. The outposts are in a sense a compromise between NATO's eastern countries, some of whom want full-scale NATO bases on their territory, and other members wary of building expensive new installations that could provoke Moscow.

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NATO to Set Up Command Centers on Eastern Flank

NATO Deputy Secretary General Holds Talks in Tbilisi

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NATO Deputy Secretary General, Alexander Vershbow, met senior government officials and lawmakers in Tbilisi on January 29 to discuss reforms and implementation of the substantial package of cooperation, which the Alliance offered to Georgia at its summit in Wales.

Setting up of a joint training and evaluation center in Georgia is part of that package.

Georgia and we are committed to have this center up and running later this year, Vershbow said after meeting with PM Irakli Garibashvili.

It will help Georgia to reform, modernize and strengthen security and defense sector and it will also be open to other NATO allies and to some other NATO partners as well since Georgias geography and the high quality of its own armed forces together create unique possibilities to train together broad group of partners and allies and to foster cooperation and interoperability, he said, adding that he will be visiting one of the possible locations of this center on January 30.

It [the joint training center] will also be a visible demonstration of NATOs commitment to Georgia, Vershbow said.

Speaking after meeting with PM Garibashvili, the NATO deputy secretary general hailed Georgia for being exporter of security and for remarkable democratic and defense reforms.

So today we see a more mature democracy here in Georgia, he said. I very much welcome the determination of political leaders of this country to continue to follow along this course. I encourage all parties, all Georgians to cooperate for the benefit of people of this country, making sure that your institutions meet the highest democratic standards. Priority has to be to implement reforms across the board, not only in the defense sector; it means a clear commitment to rule of law, to improving governance at any level, Vershbow said.

PM Garibashvili reiterated that integration into NATO is a firm choice of the Georgian people and we are doing everything in order to achieve this goal.

Also on November 29, NATO deputy secretary general met Defense Minister Mindia Janelidze; State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Davit Bakradze; parliament speaker Davit Usupashvili and senior lawmakers from ruling and opposition parties, as well as representatives of UNM opposition party.

Parliament speaker, Davit Usupashvili, said that Georgia has quite ambitious plans within substantial package of cooperation with NATO.

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NATO Deputy Secretary General Holds Talks in Tbilisi

NATO to deploy units to Baltics, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria

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Lorne Cook, The Associated Press Published Friday, January 30, 2015 8:45AM EST Last Updated Friday, January 30, 2015 10:20AM EST

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- NATO will deploy small units in six Eastern European nations to help co-ordinate a spearhead force set up in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine, the alliance's secretary-general said Friday.

Jens Stoltenberg said the units in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania will be the first of their kind there.

Defence ministers from the 28-nation military alliance will discuss the full force, which can react quickly to any hotspots in Europe, when they meet on Feb. 5.

Stoltenberg said countries responsible for providing the several thousand troops to the force should be known next week.

The forward units will comprise a few dozen troops only. They will plan and organize military exercises, and provide command and control for any reinforcements the force might require.

"They're going to plan, they're going to organize exercises, to provide ... some key command elements for reinforcements," Stoltenberg said.

France, meanwhile, is pledging tanks and armoured vehicles to bolster NATO forces in Poland, where leaders are increasingly uneasy about Russia.

The French military equipment is expected to remain in Poland for two months.

As tensions increased in 2014, NATO forces conducted about 200 military exercises, and Stoltenberg vowed this would continue as the alliance adapts to the increased presence of Russian warplanes in European skies. NATO intercepted more than 400 Russian aircraft last year.

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NATO to deploy units to Baltics, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria

Spain plane crash: Greek F-16 fighter jet crashes during NATO exercise killing 10 – Video

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Spain plane crash: Greek F-16 fighter jet crashes during NATO exercise killing 10
At least ten people were killed when a Greek F-16 fighter jet came down shortly after takeoff during a NATO exercise at a training centre in Spain on Monday. The two-seater Greek F-16 jet...

By: TomoNews US

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Spain plane crash: Greek F-16 fighter jet crashes during NATO exercise killing 10 - Video

Stoltenberg says Putin claim on NATO troops in Ukraine is ‘nonsence’: US may impose more sanctions – Video

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Stoltenberg says Putin claim on NATO troops in Ukraine is #39;nonsence #39;: US may impose more sanctions
VOA reports for Ukraiine Today. The United States is echoing concerns from Western allies about Russia #39;s continued interference in eastern Ukraine. U.S. military officials say Moscow #39;s...

By: UKRAINE TODAY

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Stoltenberg says Putin claim on NATO troops in Ukraine is 'nonsence': US may impose more sanctions - Video


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