Estonian Foreign Ministry welcomes UK troop deployment to Baltic states
Date
10/8/2015 8:10:06 AM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly)Estonian Foreign Minister Marina Kaljurand welcomed on Thursday a decision by the United Kingdom to deploy its troops to the Baltic states.
Earlier in the day UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon announced at a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels that a "small number" of British troops would be deployed to the Baltics as part of the alliance's mission in response to what it calls "Russia's aggressive foreign policy" in Eastern Europe.
"This agreement was reached a year ago during the NATO summit in Wales. As for the NATO presence on the alliance's eastern border it must involve all allies. I am very pleased that the British military contingent will be present in Estonia" Kaljurand told the Estonian ETV+ TV channel.
NATO earlier opened command centers for facilitating alliance deployments and coordinating training in Estonia Latvia Lithuania Poland Romania and Bulgaria. About 40 officers will work in each command unit.
Russia's permanent representative to NATO Alexander Grushko has stated that the opening of NATO centers in six Eastern European countries will fuel a confrontation with Russia by the alliance.
NATO-Russia relations deteriorated sharply following Crimea's reunification with Russia and the beginning of an internal conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014. The alliance accused Moscow of meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs subsequently boosting its military presence in Eastern Europe.
Russia has repeatedly dismissed the allegations stating that NATO's increased activities near the country's borders undermine both regional and global stability.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.