NATO Chief Claims Eastern Presence 'Not Substantial' and 'Only Defensive'
15:50 18.05.2016(updated 16:21 18.05.2016)
Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO deployment in Eastern Europe is and will be "far below" any "reasonable definition" of substantial forces and is in line with the NATO-Russia Founding Act.
BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – NATO deployment in Eastern Europe is and will be "far below" any "reasonable definition" of substantial forces and is in line with the NATO-Russia Founding Act, the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.
"We have decided to increase our military presence in the eastern part of the alliance, that decision has already been taken. What we are discussing now is the scale and the scope of that increased military presence…We have received advice from our military commanders advising us to have battalions in different countries in the eastern part of the alliance. We have not made any final decisions," Stoltenberg told reporters.
"Everything we do is defensive, it is proportionate and it is fully in line with our international obligations, including the NATO-Russia Founding Act. And I think it is important to remember that when the NATO-Russia founding act refers to 'substantial combat forces' – what we are looking into is far below any reasonable definition of substantial combat forces," he added.
Russia has repeatedly expressed concern about NATO's eastwards expansion. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow has offered the alliance to find an agreement that would provide a detailed definition of so-called substantial combat forces – a term used in the two sides' 1997 Founding Act – but this suggestion has been rejected by NATO.
© Sputnik
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
