NATO leaders back posting more troops in Eastern Europe

PanARMENIAN.Net - NATO leaders approved plans Friday, Sept 5, to post several thousand troops in Eastern Europe who could quickly mobilize if an alliance country in the region were to come under attack, the Associated Press reports.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the new unit would send a clear message to potential aggressors, namely Russia.

"Should you even think of attacking one ally, you will be facing the whole alliance," he declared as a two-day NATO summit in southern Wales drew to a close.

Confronting another pressing international crisis, Rasmussen said NATO stands "ready to help" Iraq fight back against a violent militant group, but noted that the Iraqi government has not made any such request. U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have been pressing their NATO counterparts to join a coalition of nations that could degrade militants from the Islamic State group.

The threat posed by the Islamic State overshadowed some of the NATO summit's official agenda. Yet the leaders still spent a considerable amount of their time discussing the crisis in Ukraine, with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko taking on a high-profile role during the talks.

While Poroshenko voiced "careful optimism" about the talks, Western leaders remain skeptical. The U.S. and Europe have warned that they stand ready to levy more economic sanctions on Russia, a step a top White House official said could occur within days.

Rasmussen said the high-readiness force would give NATO a "continuous presence" in Eastern Europe, with alliance countries contributing forces on a rotational basis. There were no final decisions on where the forces would be based, but Rasmussen said Poland, Romania and the Baltics have all indicated a willingness to host the facilities.

Cameron said his nation is willing to contribute 3,500 personnel to the rapid response force. He said its headquarters could be in Poland, with forward units in the easternmost NATO member countries and equipment stockpiled there in advance.

"We must be able to act more swiftly," Cameron said.