Contents tagged with NATO
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NATO fighters intercepted Russian aircraft over the Baltic five times last week
According to Postimees, NATO fighters had to accompany Russian military aircraft five times last week. The Russian planes were flying in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.
On the 26th of April, NATO fighters stationed in the Lithuanian city of Šiauliai were alerted to a Su-27 plane travelling from the Kaliningrad region of Russia. It is alleged that the plane was flying without submitting a flight plan, had its transponder switched off and did not maintain connection with the Mission …
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Large-scale NATO exercises begin in Estonia
The largest of NATO’s military exercises this year began on May 2nd in Estonia. According to the press service of the Estonian Defense Force Headquarters, 6,000 servicemen, including 1,500 from 10 countries that are strong allies and NATO partners, took part in a series of maneuvers code-named Kevadtorm 2016.
Soldiers from Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, the USA, Sweden, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania are participating. Military exercises scheduled to last three weeks …
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British fighter jets begin carrying out patrols over Baltic airspace
The web-site of the British Government reported that four fighter jets of the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom joined the NATO air policing mission in the Baltics and will lead it until the end of August. The aircraft, which will be based in Estonia during the mission, will be ready to take off round-the-clock in order to ensure security of airspace over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
“This deployment emphasizes our commitment to the respect of sovereignty of democratic States of Eastern …
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Swedish PM: We are not interested in Moscow's opinion regarding Sweden joining NATO
The Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, in response to comments made by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, on the possibility of Stockholm joining NATO, stated that Stockholm does not need Moscow’s opinion to make decisions.
Löfven noted that the words of the Russian Minister were "absolutely useless," emphasizing that no one seemed interested in Moscow’s opinion regarding this issue.
"In Sweden we make our own decisions regarding defense and security policy. In this regard we …
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Breedlove urges leaders to pay more attention to Russia
The Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Philip Breedlove, has urged leaders to pay more attention to Russia. He also said that they should increase the number of intelligence satellites due to the growth of the Russian threat.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Breedlove stated that he regretted the fact that the US has insufficient reconnaissance means to counteract the threat from Russia. He went on to say that based on this, technical resources should be put forward to …
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Stoltenberg: NATO should respond to Russia with force
According to NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO should respond to Russia’s actions from the position of strength and deterrence. Deutsche Welle reported that he made these statements in his interview with a German newspaper, Die Welt, as well as the Leading European Newspaper Alliance (LENA).
“Moscow illegally annexed Crimea, they support separatists in eastern Ukraine and they have violated international law. This is why we have expanded our presence along the eastern borders of …
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Estonia warns NATO of possible surveillance by Russian drones
The Estonian Security Police are concerned about the possible operations of the Russian Special Forces. The agency has already informed NATO that their neighbor is watching the country using unmanned aircraft.
The Security Police sent the Alliance a report on the week-long command-staff exercise, Trident Jaguar, completed on April 27th. “Over the past two days, starting April 22nd, drones were seen near the Ämari Air Base and at a military base in the south east of the country,” the report …
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Finnish President: Finland's decision to join NATO will be decided by a referendum
The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, who is in favor of maintaining the present non-aligned policy, noted that the issue on the country entering NATO should be put to a national referendum.
Commenting on the report of the international expert group about the consequences of NATO entry for the country, published on Friday, he stated in an interview with Yle that Russia sees NATO as a threat, which was also outlined in the report.
“They don’t want this threat to reach their borders,” the …
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Finnish government report states the country's ascension to NATO would provoke a crisis with Russia
According to a report released by the Finnish government, if the country joined NATO, it would provoke a crisis in relations with Russia, Evropeyskaya Pravda reported.
As noted by the Yle Finnish broadcasting company, a working group which assesses the implications of the possible accession of Finland to NATO submitted a report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Timo Soini.
According to the report, membership in NATO would most likely affect Finland's security, as it would help deter …
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Berlin confirms its plan to send German soldiers to Lithuania
On April 29th, after a meeting with the Prime Minister of Latvia, Māris Kučinskis, the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, announced the involvement of the Bundeswehr in the policy of Russian containment along the eastern borders of NATO, Deutsche Welle reported.
“I want to emphasize the fact that it is extremely important for us to operate within the NATO-Russia Agreement,” Merkel said. At the same time, she expressed her hope to intensify the dialogue between Russia and the Alliance.
“We …