Category Archives: NATO

BRUSSELS - NATO foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Tuesday to chart a course forward after a "year of aggression" from Ukraine to the Middle East and the end of the alliance's combat mission in Afghanistan.

New chief Jens Stoltenberg said on the eve of the meeting that it was a decisive time marked by Russia's intervention in Ukraine and the regional threat from the Islamic State jihadist group in Iraq and Syria.

"2014 has been a year of aggression, crisis and conflict," said Norway's Stoltenberg, who took over from Denmark's Anders Fogh Rasmussen on October 1, adding that "Russia's actions have undermined Euro-Atlantic security." US Secretary of State John Kerry and other ministers will tackle an agenda topped by an interim rapid-reaction force capable of meeting the new and more unpredictable threats that the transatlantic alliance faces.

Accustomed to long-term challenges, NATO's 28 leaders accepted at a September summit they now faced a different world where hybrid warfare and political upheaval defied traditional military solutions.

In September they agreed on a "spearhead" force estimated at around 4,000 troops to be ready by 2016, but on Tuesday they will discuss an even faster, smaller force to be ready by early 2015, with Germany and the Netherlands willing to contribute troops.

"This will make us even better prepared to deter and to defend against any crisis arising around our borders," Stoltenberg said.

Ministers will also review NATO efforts to reassure eastern members such as the Baltic states and Poland - once ruled from Moscow - by rotating aircraft, ships and troops through the region to demonstrate its commitment to their defence.

Kerry chairs anti-IS meeting

For Ukraine itself, the foreign ministers are expected to approve four trust funds to finance its military modernisation, as government forces battle pro-Kremlin rebels in the east in a conflict which has claimed more than 4,000 lives.

Stoltenberg also called for Russia to reduce its military build-up on Ukraine's borders.

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NATO ministers to plot course on Ukraine, Afghanistan

Published December 01, 2014

BRUSSELS Leaders of Afghanistan and NATO say they are ready to move to a new phase in their relations the end of NATO-led combat operations in the violence-torn country effective Jan. 1.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah arrived at NATO headquarters on Monday for talks with alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Abdullah said that following the signature by Ghani on Sunday of a status of forces agreement with NATO, the "legal framework is now fully in place" for the U.S. and other alliance member nations to shift in 2015 to a mission of training, advising and assisting Afghanistan's security forces.

Foreign ministers of the 28 NATO member countries are scheduled to meet Tuesday in Brussels. They are expected to approve the new Afghan mission, named Resolute Support.

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NATO, Afghan leaders say they are ready to move to new phase

BREAKING #FERGUSON ANNOUNCEMENT TO COME LATER TODAY! RUSSIA AND NATO TIES WORSEN!
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BREAKING #FERGUSON ANNOUNCEMENT TO COME LATER TODAY! RUSSIA AND NATO TIES WORSEN! - Video

Afghan senate approves security agreements with US, NATO
Afghanistan #39;s upper house of parliament has approved Kabul #39;s security deals with the U-S and NATO, allowing foreign forces to remain in the country next year...

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Afghan senate approves security agreements with US, NATO - Video

British envoy killed in Kabul, NATO attacks Russia
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Dean Acheson Address to NATO - New World Order 1959
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Dean Acheson Address to NATO - New World Order 1959 - Video

NATO Secretary General monthly press conference, 01 DEC 2014 - Part 2/2
Pre-ministerial press conference by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg - Questions and Answers, 1 December 2014.

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NATO Secretary General monthly press conference, 01 DEC 2014 - Part 2/2 - Video

Published December 01, 2014

BRUSSELS NATO expects to have an interim rapid-reaction force in place by next year to deal with new security challenges in Europe and elsewhere, the alliance's secretary-general said Monday.

Jens Stoltenberg said the force would be a provisional step until a full-scale unit can be organized in 2016.

Stoltenberg said Germany, Norway and the Netherlands have agreed to contribute troops to the initial force. The bigger rapid-reaction force was agreed to at a NATO summit in September as a response to Russian actions in Ukraine.

The NATO chief met with reporters to preview the agenda of Tuesday's meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Brussels. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to attend the session, which will cover a broad range of issues, from reviewing actions taken by NATO since the September summit in Wales to NATO's planned non-combat mission in Afghanistan starting Jan. 1.

On Wednesday, Kerry will chair a separate meeting at NATO headquarters of countries involved in the campaign against the Islamic State extremist group.

Douglas Lute, U.S. ambassador to NATO, said the prototype of what's officially called the High Readiness Joint Task Force will be used as a "test bed" to gauge its command and control, logistics, sustainability and connections with host nations and NATO's supreme commander in Europe.

The goal is to hone response time throughout 2015 so the unit will be able to deploy within days, Lute said.

The actual size and composition of the force is expected to be set by NATO defense ministers in February. Lute said many questions about it still remain to be answered, not least how it will be paid for.

Stoltenberg said the interim unit's creation proves NATO is moving faster to beef up security than foreseen at the Wales summit.

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NATO chief: Interim rapid-response expected next year

Beginning early next year NATO will have a new reaction force ready, which can be deployed more rapidly on its eastern border. This new force, called "interim spearhead," will consist of a few hundred troops from Germany, the Netherlands and Norway. Troops will rotate in terms of their state of readiness, but remain at bases in their home countries.

The new secretary general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, announced the plan to support the Baltic members of the alliance during his first major press conference in Brussels at NATO headquarters.

Concerned by increased Russian military activities on land, at sea and in the air in the wake of the crisis around Ukraine, NATO decided at its summit meeting in Wales in early September to strengthen its military presence in the Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, which have a common border with either Russia or Belarus.

NATO chief diplomat Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that, in his view, Russia continues to violate international law and is shipping goods and weapons to the pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. In 2016, he said, NATO intends to have a fully equipped spearhead force in place, which could be deployed to the Baltic member states in 48 hours to "deter and defend" in every possible crisis. The secretary general called on Russia to make a choice and to return to the negotiating table. "It will be an advantage for Russia, but also an advantage for NATO, if Russia chooses another path and starts to respect international law and the sovereignty of all nations and the rule-based system, we have tried to establish for so many years in Europe", said Stoltenberg.

Russia wary of 'destabilization'

The reaction from Moscow was quick. NATO was destabilizing northern Europe by holding exercises and "transferring aircraft carriers able to carry nuclear weapons to the Baltic sea", the Russian deputy ministers for foreign affairs, Alexei Meshkow, told the news agency Itartass.

However, Stoltenberg stressed the alliance would not have any direct military role in the crisis around Ukraine. The western alliance would not deliver weapons or equipment, Stoltenberg told the international press, but some NATO-member states could do that on a bilateral basis.

NATO set up several trust funds to finance military reforms and better training for the armed forces in Ukraine. "We stick to our open door policy", said Stoltenberg.

Ukraine, Georgia and other democracies can become NATO members in the future. There will be no formal or informal guarantees to Russia in that respect, underlined NATO diplomats in Brussels. Russia is opposing the possible enlargement of NATO vigorously. "My main message is that I respect the decisions taken by the Ukrainians. Ukraine decided some years ago to be a non-bloc nation. Then, I respected that. Now, I have seen that the new government is announcing that they will change that. If they do, I will of course respect that too", said Stoltenberg.

Conciliatory approach

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NATO prepares 'spearhead' to ward off Russia

Afghan MPs approve NATO security pact
The lower house of the Afghan parliament has overwhelmingly approved a security agreement allowing US and Nato troops to remain in the country. The deals pro...

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