NATO chief: We will agree on battalions for Baltic States

  • 2016-06-14
  • BNS/AFP/TBT STAFF/BRUSSELS

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated on Monday that the Allied nations would agree to establish an international battalion in each of the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, as well as in Poland.

"We will agree to deploy by rotation four robust multinational battalions in the Baltic States and Poland," Stoltenberg told journalists in Brussels ahead of the meeting of NATO defense ministers.

Stoltenberg did not say how many troops would be deployed in the four battalions but officials previously have said they will number between 2,500 and 3,000, acting as a tripwire to deter Russia and reassure nervous alliance members once ruled from Moscow.

NATO leaders are due to sign off on the programme at a summit in Poland to take place between July 8 and 9, which has pushed for a much harder line, including having permanent bases in the east to counter Russia.

"This will send a clear signal that NATO stands ready to defend any ally," he said, referring to a whole series of measures the US-led alliance has taken since the Ukraine crisis to counter a more assertive Russia.

This includes tripling the NATO Response Force to 40,000 men ready to move at short notice, creating a Spearhead force of about 5,000 on a just few days standby. It also includes pre-positioning equipment and headquarters units so these troops can hit the ground running in any fresh crisis.

The NATO chief stressed that the deployment — to be made on a rotational basis, not permanent so as not to infringe existing treaties with Russia — was part of a much wider response to the Ukraine crisis.