NATO general – Ukraine crisis could mean permanent alliance presence in Eastern Europe

An armed Ukrainian soldier is seen through a hole in a sandbag barrier as he guards at a checkpoint not far of Kharkiv, Ukraine, 06 May 2014. Ukrainian opposition groups should take part in a planned new round of Ukraine crisis talks in Geneva, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on 06 May 2014 at a Council of Europe member countries meeting in Vienna, Austria: photo - EPA/OLGA IVASHCHENKO

“I think this is something we have to consider and we will tee this up for discussion through the leaderships of our nations,” Air Force General Philip Breedlove said on Tuesday when asked whether the alliance would consider requests by Poland and others for a beefed up presence by NATO troops in the region.

“I think we need to look at our responsiveness, our readiness and then our positioning of forces to be able to address this new paradigm that we have seen demonstrated in Crimea and now on the eastern border of Ukraine,” Breedlove said at a press conference in Ottawa, Canada.

In April, Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said he would be happy to see “two heavy brigades”, or around 10,000 NATO troops, stationed in Poland.

"Poland has been a member of NATO for 15 years now and so far the only permanent military institution that we have is a conference centre, training facility,” Sikorski said.

The issue will be part of discussions between President Bronislaw Komorowski, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Thursday morning.

On probably his last trip to the Polish capital before he is replaced as NATO secretary-general by Norway's Jens Stoltenberg in October, Anders Fogh Rasmussen will be discussing the crisis in Ukraine and the NATO summit in Wales in September, Prime Minister Tusk's office said on Tuesday. (pg)