NATO does not seek a new arms race with Russia but it had to adjust to the new security environment, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said at a meeting of NATO defence ministers on Wednesday in Brussels
NATO's move is a response to Russia's aggressive actions in eastern Europe. "To annex a part of another country is not defensive... that is an act of aggression", said Stoltenberg, referring to Moscow's occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in March 2014. Moreover, the NATO official added, Russia continues to send troops and equipment to help separatists in eastern Ukraine. This is why NATO had to constantly increase the size of its rapid response force.
Jens Stoltenberg: "First, we decided to increase further the strength and capability of the NATO Response Force, including its air, maritime and special operations components. All together, the enhanced NATO Response Force will consist of up to 40,000 personnel. This represents a substantial increase from the previous level of 13,000. Second, we took measures to speed up our political and military decision-making, while maintaining political control."
Earlier, Washington also announced that it would deploy heavy weapons to Eastern Europe. From Lithuania, at the Baltic Sea, to Romania, at the Black Sea, its east-European allies will be hosting tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery for 5,000 troops. NATO defence ministers also approved a financial assistance package to consolidate the defence capabilities of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population. A buffer state between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova is not part of NATO, but is a neutral state, according to its constitution, which makes it even more vulnerable to Russia's new territorial appetite.
On his country's behalf, the Romanian defence minister Mircea Dusa hailed the decision to provide assistance to Moldova, which he sees as an investment in both Moldova's and Romania's security. Dusa also called for speeding up the opening of a NATO liaison office in Moldova. Military experts recall that in 1992, Moscow exercised there, albeit at a smaller scale, today's actions in Ukraine. At the time, less than a year after proclaiming its independence, Moldova de facto lost control over its pro-Russian region of Transdniester following an armed conflict that left hundreds of people dead and which only ended with the intervention of the Russian troops siding with the separatists.
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