Contents tagged with NATO

  • NATO air defense exercises begin in Slovakia

    The international Tobruq Legacy 2016 exercises began on Monday at the Lest training area in Slovakia. The air defense units of eight NATO countries are participating in the exercises. The countries involved are Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia and the US. This was reported by the press service of the Czech Ministry of Defense.

    “The goal of the exercises is to test and strengthen the level of interaction of ground air defense units in accordance with …

  • Rasmussen: Russia's attack on Ukraine surprised NATO

    NATO was surprised that Russia attacked Ukraine like it did, according to the former NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, as stated in an interview with Radio Liberty.

    "I don't think that we could have foreseen this. We were very surprised that Russia attacked Ukraine like it did. When I think about it in retrospect, I believe that in 2008, three months before Russia’s attack on Georgia, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, told us everything," Rasmussen said in …

  • NATO to deploy rapid response forces to the Baltics in May

    The North Atlantic Treaty Organization will deploy a new group of rapid response forces to the Baltic region in May 2017. The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee and Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army, Petr Pavel, stated that some divisions will come to the site earlier than the main group. The statement was made following the results of the NATO Committee meeting in Split, Croatia, the Wall Street Journal notes.

    There, the military leadership of the Alliance discussed the terms …

  • Canada to deploy 455 soldiers to Latvia in 2017

    Canada will send more than 450 soldiers to Latvia in May 2017 within the framework of NATO's efforts to expand its presence in the Baltic region, the AFP agency reported on Friday, September 16.

    The day before, Canadian General Jonathan Vance had confirmed the deployment of 455 servicemen to Latvia. "I think the soldiers will start arriving next spring, around May", Vance told the reporters. According to him, this process should be completed in early fall.

    In July, NATO approved the …

  • A member of the US House of Representatives believes that Ukraine will join NATO

    A member of the US House of Representatives, Marcy Kaptur, stated in her interview with Ukrinform that powerful bipartisan political support of Ukraine from the US Congress and US administration will not deteriorate after the presidential elections in the United States, regardless of the winner. According to her, the issue of Ukraine, Russia and eastern and central Europe is an ongoing issue for the US electoral campaign.

    Kaptur also expressed confidence that Ukraine will become a member of …

  • Lithuania to remain as NATO Contact Embassy in Ukraine for two more years

    The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry is expected to announce that it will continue its work as NATO Contact Embassy in Ukraine until 2018, sources in the diplomatic corps told the European Pravda. According to the sources, the decision was agreed to by the Alliance and the Ukrainian side. It will become official after it is formally announced.

    As European Pravda previously reported, the Lithuanian Embassy took over the functions of NATO Contact diplomatic mission in early 2015. Before that, the …

  • NATO exercises in Georgia end

    Military exercises with the participation of NATO countries were completed in Georgia. Over 1,200 servicemen including dozens of soldiers and officers from the United States, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Latvia and Turkey took part in the Agile Spirit 2016 exercises that were conducted beginning on September 1st at the Orfolo range in southern Georgia, near the Turkish border.

    Aircraft and artillery were actively used. The exercises were carried out in two phases: rifle training on the Orfolo …

  • Stoltenberg: Despite Russia's criticism, NATO will continue to support Ukraine

    Russia’s criticism against NATO for supporting Ukraine is groundless because each independent country has a right to ask the Alliance for help, stated Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference in Tbilisi.

    “Russia criticizes our support of Ukraine. But Ukraine is an independent state and it asked for support. This is absolutely the legitimate right of every country, to ask for support and receive it. So there is no reason for criticism of the fact that we support a …

  • Stoltenberg: Russia is the reason for stationing NATO troops in the Baltics and Poland

    The presence of NATO battalions in the Baltic States and Poland is associated with the military ambitions of Russia, the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Jens Stoltenberg, said.

    “The reason for placing the four battalions of NATO in the Baltic States and Poland is that we saw the military ambitions of Russia and its desire to use force against its neighbors,” Stoltenberg said on Wednesday, August 7, 2016, speaking during the International Conference “Europe’s …

  • Poroshenko: NATO membership remains Ukraine's strategic goal

    As was stated by the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, NATO membership remains a strategic goal and provides guidelines for Ukraine.

    On Tuesday, while addressing the members of Parliament at the opening of the autumn session, Poroshenko noted that Kyiv managed to achieve an unprecedented level of cooperation with NATO countries.

    Poroshenko stressed that Ukraine will increase, extend, and deepen cooperation with NATO until it fully meets the criteria for membership in the North Atlantic …