North Atlantic Treaty Organization
April 15, 2014
NATO Secretary General says Ukraine crisis amplifies need to boost defence cooperation
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday (15 April 2014) that the Ukraine crisis has amplified the need to strengthen cooperation between NATO, the European Union and with close partners. “We need to train and exercise more together, for instance the NATO Response Force and the EU Battlegroups, so that we stand ready for whatever the future may bring,” the Secretary General said arriving for EU Defence Ministers talks in Luxembourg.
The Secretary General discussed the crisis in Ukraine with the EU defence ministers. He expressed his deep concern over the continued violence by small groups of separatists and Russia’s continued military pressure on Ukraine’s border. “I call on Russia to de-escalate the crisis, to pull back its troops from Ukraine’s borders, to stop de-stabilizing the situation in Ukraine, and make clear that it doesn’t support the violent actions of pro-Russian separatists,” he said. “Russia should stop being part of the problem, and start being part of the solution.”
The EU ministers were informed by Mr. Fogh Rasmussen about what measures NATO has already taken and will take to further strengthen collective defence at sea, in the air and on land. “These measures will follow three tracks; re-enforced defence plans, enhanced exercises and appropriate deployments,” he said. The Secretary General will also hold talks with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg and Mr. Marc Angel, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee of the Luxembourg Parliament, while in the Grand Duchy.
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