By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2014 – NATO is both a military and
political alliance, and this has a bearing on how member countries deal with
Russia, Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove told National Public Radio today.
NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe spoke to “Morning
Edition” via telephone during the first day of NATO’s summit in Wales. He said
Russia’s annexation of Crimea and operations inside eastern Ukraine have put
the goal of a peaceful, free Europe at risk.
“We’ve always worked for a Europe free and a Europe that is
able to choose its own destiny and a Europe that is wide open for all to participate
in trade, economics, etc.,” the general said. “And what we see in what’s
happened recently in Ukraine is what we thought would never happen again.”
Russia amassed a military force on its recognized border
with Ukraine, crossed that border “and annexed, at the point of a gun, a
portion of another sovereign nation,” Breedlove said. “We thought this kind of
thing was over in Europe. And so, NATO now has to consider what does this
mean.”
NATO nations respond
Noting that NATO is both a political and a military
alliance, Breedlove said NATO nations are making political moves to counter
Russia’s aggression while ensuring that the defensive portion of the alliance
is robust.
“I think what you will see from the summit is that NATO,
among other European nations, will begin to take even more strident measures if
we continue to see the overt Russian business being done inside a sovereign
Ukraine nation,” he said.
NATO has made moves to reassure allies who once were in the
orbit of the Soviet Union and who have no desire to be under the Russian heel
again. These short-term measures -- more planes patrolling, more ground
exercises, more ships -- will remain in place until they are no longer needed,
the general said. “I fully expect that we’ll be tasked today or tomorrow to
extend those assurance measures until we come to those long-term adaptions that
will be discussed as a part of the readiness action plan here by our
senior-most leaders,” he added.
The readiness action plan will look at options for
forward-based forces on a rotational, persistent basis, he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment