Contents tagged with NATO

  • NATO aircraft escorted 21 Russian warplanes over the Baltics last week

    The pilots participating in the NATO air mission in the Baltic States flew over the Baltic Sea eight times last week to identify and escort a total of 21 Russian military aircraft, as reported by Delfi, citing the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania.

    About half of the escorted planes were fighters, the rest were transport and even passenger aircrafts. Many Russian transport aircrafts flew with their transmitters off.

    Further, 10 Russian aircraft had to be escorted by NATO aircrafts on Thursday, …

  • Serbia says it has no plans to join NATO

    Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin has stated that the country has no plans to join NATO, reports RIA Novosti.

    At the same time, the head of the country's defense ministry called on Serbia's partners in the international arena to respect the neutrality of Belgrade.

    "We, of course, communicate with NATO within the framework of the ‘Partnership for Peace’; this is the optimal level of cooperation for us, and we are satisfied with this. We always tell our partners in NATO that we maintain …

  • For the first time NATO to hold joint military exercise in Serbia

    The first joint military exercise with NATO member states in Serbia are planned for October 2018, Raido Svobodna Evropa informs.

    “The event will be a political breakthrough in the cooperation [of Serbia] with the North Atlantic Alliance,” Raido Svobodna Evropa notes.

    Though the Serbian military has participated in more than 20 military exercises under the auspices of NATO as observers, the REGEX 18 military exercise will be held in Serbia for the first time.It is reported that the training …

  • Canada sends warship to the Baltic Sea

    The Canadian Navy Frigate Charlottetown has set off for the Baltic Sea to participate in a NATO operation to contain Russia, reported the Ministry of Defense of Canada.

    "The deployment of HMCS Charlottetown demonstrates Canada’s ongoing commitment to international security and cooperation as part of NATO assurance and deterrence measures in Central and Eastern Europe," the Defense Ministry stressed.

    The Defense Ministry added that Charlottetown’s mission to the Baltic Sea will last 6 months, …

  • NATO criticizes Putin’s official visit to Abkhazia

    The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to unrecognized Abkhazia, Reuters reports quoting the representative of the alliance.

    “The visit of President Putin to the Georgian region of Abkhazia on the ninth anniversary of the armed conflict undermines the efforts of the international community to reach a peaceful and agreeable solution to the conflict,” the report said.

    The NATO spokesman said that Putin’s visit should have been …

  • Stoltenberg: NATO is not seeking confrontation with Russia

    NATO hopes for a dialogue with Russia and does not want a confrontation with Moscow, stated the Secretary General of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, as reported by RIA Novosti.

    “We do not want a new cold war with Russia, we do not want a confrontation with Russia, so we are acting in a balanced and measured way. We continue to seek a dialogue with Russia, since this is our largest neighbor ... and we must try not to be nervous,” he said.

    According to Stoltenberg, the building up of Russia’s …

  • Stoltenberg called on Russia to allow NATO observers to the Zapad 2017 exercise

    NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg believes that more servicemen will be involved in the upcoming joint Russian and Belarusian exercise Zapad 2017 (West-2017) than was officially announced, and as a result, called for the admission of observers from the alliance to the exercise, Interfax reports.

    "I can say that it's too early to say anything right now, because we still have to see, because the exercises have not taken place yet. However, based on the history of the previous exercises, …

  • Ukrainian Ministry of Defense: 28 combat units have been trained according to advanced NATO standards

    The press service of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported that 28 military units from its Armed Forces were trained according to NATO standards by instructors from Canada, Great Britain, the USA, Lithuania and Poland.

    The report said that, “in 2017, 297 instructors were trained to Alliance standards. Overall, since the beginning of the military reform, about 1,200 military instructors have been trained, 600 of which had the benefit of foreign coaches’ participation.”

    The Ministry also …

  • Stoltenberg urges Russian Federation to withdraw troops from Ukraine

    At a joint press briefing with President Petro Poroshenko, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on Russia to withdraw troops from the territory of Ukraine and stop supporting militants.

    "We discussed the situation in the East of Ukraine. Further conflict will takes people's lives. More than ten thousand people have been killed during the fighting, including nearly three thousand civilians. It is clear that the ceasefire is not holding, and we are concerned by increasing threats …

  • NATO provided Ukraine with equipment to strengthen cybersecurity

    The head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Hrytsak, states that as part of the Ukraine-NATO trust fund for cyber security, Ukraine has received technical equipment and software worth a million euros.

    According to him, in the near future this equipment will be installed "as directed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs".

    The Deputy Secretary General of NATO for new security challenges, Sorin Ducaru, said that training will be provided for Ukrainian experts, as well as technical support …