2016 NATO Summit in Warsaw
The NATO Summit July 8-9, 2016 in Warsaw, Poland has put into action the biggest changes to the alliance since the dissolution of the Soviet Union to counter what NATO is terming "an aggressive and dangerously unpredictable Russia." NATO suspended military cooperation with Russia after Russia's 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea following the coup against the elected pro-Russian government and the subsequent referendum in Crimea in which the majority of citizens of Crimea who are ethnic Russians overwhelmingly voted to "reunite" with Russia rather than stay in what they call an anti-Russian Ukraine.
The US-led NATO alliance is enacting a "Readiness Action Plan" to ensure it is ready for any future actions such as the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
According to the State Department press release President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry will use the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland to further efforts to "strengthen NATO's security and to project stability to the Alliance's east and south."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said NATO will take key decisions to "strengthen the NATO alliance's defense and deterrence and project stability beyond NATO's borders."
NATO's new top military leader, US Army General Curtis Scaparrotti said that NATO had to be ready to "fight tonight" against Russia, if necessary and President Obama increased to $3.4 million US military spending in Europe in his 2017 budget proposal, four times the previous budget.
However, not all associated with NATO favor escalation. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany called the recent military exercises in Poland, in which 14,000 American troops participated, "saber-rattling and war cries." In a clear rebuke to NATO, he added, "Whoever believes that a symbolic tank parade on the alliance's eastern border will bring security is mistaken. We are well-advised to not create pretexts to renew an old confrontation." Adding to the caution against vilifying Russia, French president, Franà §ois Hollande, said that Russia should not be seen as a threat, but a partner.
Responding with a non-confrontational Independence Day July 4 message to President Obama, Russian President Putin wrote that "the history of Russian-American relations shows that when we act as equal partners and respect each other's lawful interests, we are able to successfully resolve the most complex international issues for the benefit of both countries' peoples."
Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, insisted that Russia "has always been open for dialogue" with NATO, especially to fight the "genuine threat" of terrorism.
"Russia is not looking [for an enemy] but it actually sees it happening," Peskov told reporters in Moscow. "When NATO soldiers march along our border and NATO jets fly by, it's not us who are moving closer to NATO borders."
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
4
2
2
