NATO on higher alert amid fears of Russian aggression: report
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
07.11.2016 16:55
NATO is to put hundreds of thousands of troops on a higher state of alert amid fears of Russian aggression, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg has indicated, according to The Times.
Photo: Flickr.com/NATO
The British daily reported that Sir Adam Thomson, Britain’s outgoing ambassador to NATO, said he believes the aim is to speed up the response time of up to 300,000 troops to around two months.
A force of this size could currently take up to half a year to deploy, the paper said.
Stoltenberg was cited by The Times as saying: “We have seen a more assertive Russia implementing a substantial military build-up over many years; tripling defence spending since 2000 in real terms; developing new military capabilities; exercising their forces and using military force against neighbours.”
He added: “We are responding with the biggest reinforcement of our collective defence since the end of the Cold War.”
At a Warsaw summit in July, NATO states decided to deploy four rotating battalions of about 1,000 soldiers each to the alliance’s eastern flank amid fears of potential Russian aggression.
In addition, the United States announced that an armoured brigade would be sent to Central and Eastern Europe.
America will deploy the armoured brigade in Poland in February, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said last month. (pk)
Source: The Times