VILNIUS, Lithuania \u2014 NATO on Tuesday activated command units in six central and eastern European members to boost defense amid regional tensions over Russia’s actions in Ukraine, Lithuania’s defence ministry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“NATO today officially activated NATO force integration units in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania,” ministry spokeswoman Asta Galdikaite told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Baltic nation’s foreign minister Linas Linkevicius said the move was “a clear sign that NATO takes it’s commitments very seriously.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It is a clear message both to allies and, of course, opponents who have recently increased the tensions,” the minister told AFP, without directly naming Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will attend ceremonies in Vilnius Thursday formally inaugurating the string of units, an alliance statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The six multinational units with around 40 officers each were set up to facilitate the deployment of the newly forged NATO rapid reaction force and coordinate military drills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is the latest NATO move to boost defenses in the eastern flank since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NATO has increased the number of military exercises, deployed planes and ships while the US pledged to keep heavy weapons in the region that lay behind the Iron Curtain a quarter of a century ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Latvia confirmed Tuesday that two US Army Predator surveillance drones and 70 airmen had deployed to its Lielvarde Air Base for a training mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They are here… they will be staying for two weeks for training purposes \u2014 it is not a permanent deployment,” Latvian Defence Ministry spokeswoman Anete Gneze told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Intelligence training will involve two intelligence officers from Poland and each of the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The moves come less than two weeks after NATO opened a new Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence in the Latvian capital, Riga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though officials have been at pains not to describe it as a counter-propaganda center, part of its brief is to analyze aggressive messages emanating from media operated by Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The three Baltic states and Poland have also repeatedly called for a permanent NATO presence to deter Russia but the Western alliance has so far stuck to back-to-back troop rotations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Critics contend that permanent military bases could breach a 1997 agreement with Russia and trigger an arms race as Moscow accuses NATO of closing in on Russia’s borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Linkevicius insisted Russian military exercises have recently been much larger than NATO drills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We’ve repeatedly said our steps are not directed against anybody. We are only meeting the commitments to secure NATO countries and citizens,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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