A ‘temporary’ deployment of US troops in Poland and the Baltic states
has been extended through 2015, a US commander in Europe said. NATO
sells its presence as a deterrent to an ‘aggressive Russia’, with Moscow
countering that it only escalates tension.
The alliance deployed
several hundred US troops in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and
Estonia earlier this year. The move was explained by a desire to
give confidence to these NATO members after the political crisis
in Ukraine and the secession of its region of Crimea to rejoin
Russia. The alliance called it an annexation and said countries
in the region feared that Moscow would militarily attack
them.
Originally the troops were supposed to stay until the end of the
year, but now NATO wants to keep them for at least 12 months
more, said Lieutenant-General Frederick Ben Hodges, Commanding
General of US Army Europe.
"We have planned rotations out through next year. Units are
designated that will continue to do this," Hodges told
journalist in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
"There are going to be US Army forces here in Lithuania, as
well as Estonia and Latvia and Poland, for as long as is required
to deter Russian aggression and to assure our allies," he
said as cited by Reuters.
A 1997 Russia-NATO agreement forbids the alliance from having
troops permanently stationed in the Baltic States, so the
deployment remains a temporary mission. However, it’s not
immediately clear when, if ever, NATO would consider the
perceived threat of a Russian aggression no longer valid and
withdraw the troops.
Washington’s assurances to its eastern NATO partners were also
delivered last week through diplomatic channels.
“When NATO and the US as part of NATO took new members into
the alliance, this means that we are ready to participate in the
defense of the security of these countries, and this means that
we are ready to give our lives for the security of these
countries,” said US Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian affairs Victoria Nuland during a visit to
Latvia.
Amid the Ukrainian crisis, Poland and the Baltic states have been
among the most vocal critics of Russia. Lithuanian President
Dalia Grybauskaite went as far as branding Russia ‘a terrorist
state’ last week, prompting some Russian MPs to call for the
severing of diplomatic ties with Vilnius.
Russia considers the build-up of NATO troops close to its borders
provocative and dangerous. Moscow’s envoy to the alliance
Aleksandr Grushko said NATO “is turning the Baltic region,
which used to be militarily calm, into an area of military
confrontation with Russia.” (Source http://rt. com/news /208227-nato-troops-poland-baltic/)
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