NATO defense ministers discuss Russian countermeasures

NATO defense ministers began talks on Thursday in Brussels on how to strengthen the security of alliance member countries in the face of aggressive actions on the part of Russia.

They will also discuss Georgia’s desire to join a defensive alliance.

The ministers are expected to approve the creation of a network of command centers in Eastern Europe to rapidly strengthen the region in the event of a threat from Russia, establish a new regional headquarters and increase the number of rapid reaction forces.

It is assumed that they will come to an agreement to increase the NATO rapid reaction force from the current 13 thousand to 30 thousand people and will fill with concrete content the decision to create an advanced grouping of these forces of 5 thousand people with a shorter response time - only a few days.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that these measures, being part of the Alliance’s response to the Russian annexation of Crimea, are defensive in nature.

“This is a response to what has come from Russia for some time, and this is fully consistent with our international obligations,” he told reporters.

US ambassador to NATO, Douglas Lut, on Wednesday said that the first seven NATO flags in the region will fly over the recently expanded headquarters in Poland and above the six command centers in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the three Baltic countries, where to date the alliance has been humble.

For US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, this is the last international trip as head of the Pentagon.

Hagel arrived in Belgium to attend the fifth meeting of NATO defense ministers.

Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said that at the meeting, Hagel will be able to share his thoughts on the changes in NATO before leaving office several days later.

“The meeting will be an opportunity for the minister to share his final thoughts on the evolution of the alliance throughout his career - from a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to the former chairman of the Atlantic Council and, of course, the Minister of Defense,” said Kirby.

NATO leaders will discuss the "ongoing provocation of Russia in the east," as the Pentagon calls it.

In a speech at a press conference on Tuesday devoted to Ukraine, the President of the Brookings Institute, Strobe Talbott, said that Russia's actions in Ukraine are more than a provocation.

“It would be more correct to describe it as an act of war on the part of the Russian Federation,” he said. - And in this respect there is a serious threat to peace in Europe, peace in Eurasia, and therefore a threat to the interests of the United States. I would even say - the threat to the chances for a peaceful 21 century ”.

Candidate for the post of Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter on Wednesday told lawmakers that he was inclined to support the delivery of lethal military aid to Ukraine. However, NATO members such as France and Germany do not support such a move.

A senior Pentagon spokesman said that at meetings with some of his European colleagues, Hagel will probably discuss the threat posed by the terrorists of the Islamic State.

It is noteworthy that for the first time in 13 years the war in Afghanistan will not be on the agenda of the ministerial meeting. NATO's combat mission against the Taliban fighters ended in December. A NATO-led non-combat educational support mission began in January.

Karla babb

"Voice of America"