NATO recognizes that plans to deploy American tanks in Eastern Europe are associated With the situation in Ukraine, said the head of the office of the Commonwealth in Moscow Robert Pszczel.
first Lieutenant General of the U.S. army Ben Hodges told that North America is expected to accommodate about 150 tanks and armored personnel carriers in the States, NATO and Eastern Europe in 2015. Hodges noted that about 50 armored vehicles already posted, the other 100 tanks M1 Abrams tanks and infantry combat vehicles Bradley will be installed at the position in Germany and Possibly elsewhere, that U.S. Soldiers could carry out exercises With waxes NATO. At the same time the US denied that This is caused by the situation in Ukraine and in Eastern Europe.
" If we speak of Eastern Europe, Is one response to Russia's actions, " said Pszczel in talk radio Sputnik. According to him, these steps coincide With the main task of NATO collective defence." Secondly, They are transparent, thirdly, They do not violate our contracts, " said Pszczel." In short, the story is about the existence of the military elements of other NATO countries on the area of Eastern Europe, we can talk about airplanes, tanks, large exercises, and so on, All these tools are defensive in nature, " he added.
Russia has stated many times that it is absolutely not involved in the events in the South-East of Ukraine, where the Kiev authorities began in April, military action against dissatisfied with the February coup d'etat, the victims of which were 4, 3 thousands of civilians. Moscow stresses that is not a party to domestic conflict and is interested in Ukraine overcame political and economic crisis, and All the charges are unsubstantiated.
authorized NATO once again noticed that the Alliance does not violate any consensus." I wish to remind you that we are not ready to make major deployment of troops on a permanent basis, then it talks about the placement of elements on a rotating basis. This is what happens. But It is not done on a regular basis, " he assured Pszczel.
With the beginning of fall in the Ukraine, the Alliance has strengthened its presence in the Baltic region. Division mission the protection of the airspace of NATO in the Baltic States Since may 1, based not only in Lithuania, where the number of fighters doubled (up to eight aircraft), But in Estonia, where they sent four F-16 fighter of the Royal air force of Denmark. In addition, the four fighters were aimed at the military air base in the Polish city of Malbork. At the end of April in the region also came about 600 soldiers of the U.S. army who participate in the exercises on different polygons. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have repeatedly stressed that support further expansion of NATO forces in the area. As said previously the head of the Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S. Lavrov Century, Moscow was convinced that reckless and relentless expansion of NATO is a mistake that undermines the stability of Europe.
numerous anti-government protests were started in the South-Eastern regions of Ukraine at the end of February 2014. They were the response of local residents to violent change of power in the country and the subsequent attempt to cancel the Verkhovna Rada of the law granting Russian the status of regional language.
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