Southeast European Times
February 23, 2015
NATO expands presence in Eastern Europe
By Miki Trajkovski for Southeast European Times
Skopje: NATO’s plan to open six new command centres in Eastern Europe is being hailed by Balkan experts as a sign that the region is not being ignored.
Defence ministers from the 28-member military Alliance agreed on February 5th to set up command and control units in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania.
The move came “in the light of the changing security environment to the east and south of the Alliance’s borders,” a NATO statement said.
The new centres “in six of our eastern Allied countries” ensure that “we have the right forces, in the right place, at the right time,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.
“Our decisions make clear that NATO is determined to defend all Allies against any threats from any direction,” he added.
…
Experts have suggested that the new NATO centres are the result of the crisis in Ukraine, to show that NATO remains a strong supporter and protector of its allies in these parts of Europe.
According to Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu, NATO may launch a new command and control centre on a division level in two years in Romania.
Setting up permanent NATO and US military facilities, such as the anti-missile base at Deveselu and the new command centres, carries a major political message to Russia…
Events in Ukraine and the Middle East inevitably led to NATO’s new strategic approach, said Pristina professor Behlul Beqaj.
“The entire geo-strategic situation has new moments that require new preventive solutions, and broad support from all potential partners, for their own safety, to be protected by NATO,” he said.
This also sends a signal to the Islamic and Orthodox world to respect differences, he added.
Janev said NATO’s presence can play an important role in curbing Russia’s influence in the region. Integrating the Balkans is of strategic interest to NATO…
Correspondent Paul Ciocoiu from Bucharest contributed to this report.
Source