SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – On Tuesday a top Kremlin security official said that Moscow would now rethink its military doctrine in the face of expected NATO plans to establish a rapid-reaction force capable of deploying quickly to Eastern Europe. Tuesday’s statement will add to tensions between Moscow and NATO ahead of a NATO leaders meeting in Wales (Britain) later this week, when the alliance is expected to approve the creation of a new military force of some 4,000 troops capable of moving on only about eight hours notice.
“The fact that the military infrastructure of NATO member states is getting closer to our borders, including via enlargement, will preserve its place as one of the external threats for the Russian federation,” Mikhail Popov, the deputy head of the Kremlin advisory security council, said in an interview with the Russian news agency RIA. He said NATO was “aggravating tensions with Russia” and that that was a key factor in determining Moscow’s military strategy going forward. He offered no details. The statement came one day after the Ukrainian defense minister warned of a “great war” with Russia, “the likes of which Europe has not seen since the Second World War.”
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Monday that the NATO alliance would be designing a “readiness action plan” complete with a rapid-response force at its Wales meeting to respond to “Russia’s aggressive behavior.” The Wales summit, which will take place on Thursday and Friday, will also be attended by President Obama. It will coincide with a self-imposed deadline from the European Union to announce further economic sanctions against Russia. European leaders agreed over the weekend to slap Russia with new measures within a week unless it pulled back from Ukraine.
Source: The Washington Post