The alliance is creating a new “spearhead” force of some 4,000 troops designed to react if Russia attacks its eastern borders, EUobserver.com reports.
But Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski told press on Thursday (4 September) at a NATO summit in Wales that that the force will not be physically stationed in the region. The only new facilities will include airfields, vehicle parks, and ammunition depots to help it to deploy more quickly.
He noted that whether or not there are “permanent bases” is “a matter of semantics, diplomacy – what matters from a defence point of view is how effective the force is”.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius indicated on Thursday that NATO allies would station more capacities in Lithuania, in the air, in the sea and on land.
“Most importantly to us, the capacities will be deployed where they are needed, at the time they are needed and in numbers they are needed – there will be no restrictions,” Linkevičius said in a telephone interview to BNS. “We will see more presence in the air, in the sea and on land from the United States and other Allies.”
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