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NATO ‘considering 4,000 extra troops for Eastern Europe’

PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk 03.05.2016 07:49
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has said that NATO is considering deploying some 4,000 troops on a rotating basis to strengthen the alliance’s eastern flank, according to Polish Radio.
Ashton Carter. Photo: USAG- Humphreys/Flickr.com
Ashton Carter. Photo: USAG- Humphreys/Flickr.com

Carter said a final decision was to be made at a July NATO summit in Warsaw, Polish Radio reported.

His comments confirm an earlier report in the Wall Street Journal.

The paper quoted Western officials as saying that the US will probably supply two battalions, while another two will be provided by Germany and Britain respectively.

The troops are to be stationed on a rotational basis in the Baltic countries and probably in Poland, according to Polish radio.

Carter was speaking to journalists aboard a flight from Washington to Stuttgart, Germany.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Robert Work, the US Deputy Secretary of Defense, as saying said that the “buildup was a response to more Russian activity around the Baltics – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – where tensions have been rising.”

US media reported that the plan to send 4,000 troops to the Baltic states and Poland is separate from an earlier plan to deploy a 4,200-strong American armoured brigade to Eastern Europe. (pk)

Source: Polish Radio/IAR

tags: NATO
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