Today’s Zaman
May 16, 2015
NATO chief says Turkey to lead rapid response force
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said Turkey will be one of seven countries that will lead a rapid reaction force as part of a NATO high readiness force planned for 2021.
Speaking to reporters after a two-day summit of foreign ministers of NATO countries in the southern city of Antalya on Thursday, Stoltenberg said he welcomed Turkey’s decision to take part in forming a spearhead unit as part of the high readiness force.
Allies decided to enhance the NATO Response Force (NRF) in 2014 by creating a “spearhead force” within it, known as the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). The unit is expected to comprise 5,000 special unit forces from member countries, and will be able to respond to alerts within 48 hours.
According to NATO, “The NRF is a highly ready and technologically advanced multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and Special Operations Forces (SOF) components that the Alliance can deploy quickly, wherever needed.” NATO also describes the force as a response to security challenges in Eastern Europe.
Baltic nations ask for permanent NATO presence
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are preparing an appeal to NATO command for a permanent presence of NATO troops in their territories to counter increased Russian air and naval activity, the Lithuanian army said on Thursday.
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“In reaction to the security situation in the region, as a measure of deterrence, chiefs of defense of the Baltic states will apply officially to Supreme NATO Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) about permanent stationing of a brigade-sized NATO unit in the Baltic States,” Lithuanian Army spokesman Mindaugas Neimontas said.
The Baltic states would ask, in a joint letter, for the brigade to consist of battalion-sized deployments of NATO troops in each of the countries, which would rotate on a NATO-approved schedule. A NATO brigade typically numbers between 3,000 and 5,000 troops, and is made up of several battalions.
Waiting for the letter
Stoltenberg said NATO had increased its air policing in the region, as well as its naval and ground presence. “When we receive the letter, we will go carefully through it and assess the different proposals … but I think it is a bit too early to comment on details and specifics.”
NATO has recorded heightened activity by Russian military aircraft near their air space and there have been reports of suspected Russian submarines in Swedish and Finnish waters.
A NATO summit in Wales last year agreed to beef up rotation of allied troops and their equipment in the region, but shied away from setting up permanent bases of NATO troops in the three Baltic countries and in Poland. The US has kept a rotating presence of 150 troops in each of the Baltic States and in Poland since April 2014, augmented occasionally by shifts of similar-sized units from other NATO allies. The alliance remains divided on setting up permanent bases in the east, as some states see this move as counter to an existing agreement with Moscow.
The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania…have been members of the European Union and NATO since 2004.
Turkey seeks cooperation with NATO to combat ISIL
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, speaking at the opening of the summit, said there should be better coordination among NATO allies, after referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),,,
Turkey’s concerns were not lost on its allies, as Stoltenberg told reporters at the beginning of the meeting, “One of the important issues at this meeting, in different formats, will be how NATO can do even more when fighting terrorism and when fighting ISIL.”
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