NATO is expanding its rapid response force from 13,000 to 30,000 troops, including a spearhead force of 5,000 soldiers, some of whom could deploy in “a few days,” alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg says.
NATO is taking these steps “as a response to the aggressive actions we’ve seen from Russia, violating international law and annexing Crimea,” Stoltenberg says, adding, “We have to adapt our forces when we see the world is changing.”
Other measures include establishing six regional command and control centres in eastern NATO countries and beefing up the alliance’s command centre in the Polish city of Szczecin, Stoltenberg says.
He also defends his decision to see Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at this weekend’s Munich Security Conference, stressing the importance of keeping “channels for political contact open,” after NATO ended all practical cooperation with Moscow.
GNA
