NATO to increase its presence in eastern Europe
22:50
NATO will deploy more forces to eastern Europe as the tension between Ukraine and Russia continues to escalate.
“Today we have agreed a package of military measures. ... Our defense plans will be revised and strengthened” NATO head Anders Rasmussen said after a meeting of all 28 members of the transatlantic alliance.
Rasmussen did not specify how many troops will be deployed and where exactly, but said that the alliance will increase its presence in the Baltic Sea region and in eastern Mediterranean.
On Tuesday, Polish Defence Minister Tomasz Siemioniak called for a permanent NATO presence in eastern Europe, including Poland. “To be effective, NATO needs to have the capacity. It needs to have it also in eastern Europe,” he said in an interview with Reuters.
Such decision is opposed by Russia, which claims that any significant deployment of NATO forces in eastern Europe would violate the 1997 Founding Act, a pact between Russia and the alliance.
But Siemoniak said the agreement was no longer binding after Russia violated international law by grabbing part of Ukraine's territory. He also added that a matter of NATO base in Poland will be discussed with US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel in the upcoming days.
