Contents tagged with NATO
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Estonia: over the past week NATO Air Forces escorted Russian warplanes 12 times over the Baltic Sea
Estonia's Ministry of Defense reported that over the last week, NATO fighters had scrambled eight times to identify and escort Russian military aircraft.
According to the BNS agency, this time, a total of 12 aircraft of the Russian Federation were intercepted in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.
The latest incident was recorded on June 9, when the NATO air police accompanied Russian planes on three different occasions: an Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft, an An-26 freighter and a Su-24 …
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Turkish Defense Ministry: NATO concerned about Russian S-400 radars
Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli has attended talks with US Defense Secretary James Mattis in Brussels, during which he discussed the disagreement surrounding the purchase of S-400 systems from Russia.
According to the minister, Turkey’s deal with Russia on the S-400 anti-air missile systems does not constitute a threat to NATO, but the Alliance really does have causes for concern.
Canikli explained that the S-400s have extremely powerful radars, which could transmit information …
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Poland calls for increased military cooperation with Ukraine
According to a statement by Poland’s Ministry of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak, Poland supports increasing military cooperation with Ukraine.
“It’s terrible when an independent country is subjected to the aggression of a neighboring state—Russia. And we see a real portrait of the aggressor, not a picture provided by the Russian media. We will continue strengthening our cooperation and will meet as often as possible to resolve all pressing issues” stated Blaszczak at a press conference after the …
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NATO Secretary General insists on maintaining sanctions against Russia
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated at a press-conference in Brussels on Thursday that the Alliance does not want the isolation of Russia and wishes for relations with the country to become better; however, NATO does support the sanctions policy currently levied against the Russian Federation.
“The Alliance supports what we call a double approach,” Interfax-Ukraine cites Stoltenberg saying. “Namely: deterrence and defense, but also dialogue. Since Russia is our neighbor, and it will …
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NATO plans to fast-track military readiness
High readiness is an essential task for NATO in a modern, more unpredictable world, stated NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, June 6 while commenting on a NATO Defense Ministers meeting scheduled for June 7 to 8.
Speaking about boosting combat readiness, Stoltenberg expressed the hope that the participants could agree on a new concept called "the Four Thirties." It stipulates that by 2020, 30 mechanized battalions, 30 air squadrons, and 30 …
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NATO: Russia violates military balance in the Black Sea region
Russia’s actions in the Black Sea region have violated the zone’s military balance, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs James Appathurai stated, the Agerpres agency reports.
Appathurai, who is NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, made this statement while speaking on Tuesday at a forum devoted to security in the Atlantic and Black Sea.
Following the annexation of the Crimea by Russia, “a lot of military equipment was …
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Former Estonian President: Russia may lose several cities if it attacks NATO
For 27 years, Russia has been conducting an information campaign against Estonia, and now it is trying to use the same methods to discredit Ukraine too, stated former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.
Ilves believes that despite its campaign to discredit Estonia, Russia does not threaten the country in a military sense, because it knows it could take significant losses. In this context, the former president pointed out that Estonia is a NATO member, and according to one of the Alliance’ …
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NATO launches large-scale military exercise in Baltics
Approximately 18,000 servicemen from 19 countries will take part in the US-led NATO Saber Strike military exercises, which began on Sunday, June 3, with a solemn ceremony in Vilnius.
The exercises have been held annually since 2010. NATO battalions under the leadership of the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada currently deployed in the Baltic States and Poland will take part.
“NATO [troops]…[are] being specifically tested during Saber Strike, and [these joint exercises] …
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Estonian Defense Minister: Ukraine and Georgia should wait for the right moment to join NATO
Estonian Minister of Defense, Jüri Luik, stated that Georgia and Ukraine should prepare for NATO membership and wait for the right moment, the ERR news agency reports.
“I told my Georgian and Ukrainian colleagues that you should never give up,” Luik stated. “The best example is the membership of the Baltic countries. It was considered a miracle, but, nevertheless, it happened.”
According to Luik, this became possible due to the sudden “affair” of former US President George Bush and Russian …
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Stoltenberg: NATO will not help Israel in the event of an attack by Iran
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated in an interview with Der Spiegel that NATO will not help Israel in the event of armed conflict with Iran. Stoltenberg noted that NATO cannot provide Israel with full security guarantees, since the country is not a member of the organization, although it remains a partner of the alliance. Stoltenberg stressed that the Alliance does not participate in the settlement process in the Middle East. “This is not our job,” he stated. However, he …