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NATO'S SECOND-IN-COMMAND SAYS RUSSIA IS NOW AN ENEMY, NOT A PARTNER
http://rt.com/usa/156204-nato-vershbow-russia-adversary/
Published time: May 01, 2014 17:08
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow (AFP Photo /
Yuri Kadobnov)
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow now says that the
allied group has been compelled to treat Russia "as more of an enemy
than a partner," according to an Associated Press report published
Thursday.
The 61-year-old former United States ambassador to Russia reportedly
told journalists this week that Moscow's role in the ongoing crisis
in Ukraine has forced NATO to reconsider the alliance's opinion on
Russia, and that additional troops may soon be mobilized to the region
as tensions worsen.
AP journalist Robert Burns wrote on Thursday that Vershbow said the
Kremlin's perceived part in the recent events in Ukraine "marks a
turning point in decades of effort by NATO to draw Moscow closer."
NATO's second-in-command reportedly told journalists that the alliance
is now considering new measures meant to counter any future acts of
aggression on the part of Russia aimed at partner nations, and soon
could deploy a larger number of combat forces to Eastern Europe.
Journalists reporting for Civil.Ge wrote on Thursday that Vershbow
told the audience at a panel discussion in Washington, DC one day
earlier that NATO should deploy "defensive assets to the region."
"We need to step up our support for defense reforms and military
modernization of Russia's neighbors, and not just of Ukraine, but also
Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan," Vershbow said, according to
the Civil Georgia site.
NATO should think about "upgrading" joint exercises among partner
nations, the site quoted Vershbow as saying during the event,
while acknowledging that deploying forces to Georgia would be a
"controversial" maneuver.
"It is also important for the United States to show leadership... to
make sure that next steps that NATO will make, for example at the
summit in September, will be adequate response to what's happening in
Ukraine," the Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania said during
the discussion.
"The West should now seize the opportunity and create the reality on
the ground by accepting membership of aspirant countries, by putting
purely defensive assets in aspirant countries and predominantly
in Georgia," Alasania added. "What is important now is to put some
deterrent capabilities on the ground like air defense and anti-armor
capabilities that will give us a chance to defend our freedom, because
we know that if things go wrong at this point no one is coming to
save us; we've seen that in 2008."
Earlier this week, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said the
builduip of NATO troops near Russia's border was "unprecedented."
Weeks earlier, the US Air Force commander in charge of NATO's military
presence in Europe said that US troops may soon be deployed to the
region as tensions continue to worsen near the border between Ukraine
and Russia.
For weeks now, officials in Washington and Kiev have claimed that the
recent separation of Crimea from Ukraine and the rash of uprisings in
the country's eastern part are the direct result of destabilization
efforts spearheaded by Moscow, and both the US and European Union have
introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia as a result. The
Kremlin has refuted these claims and rebuffed the sanctions, however,
and earlier this week Russian Pres. Vladimir Putinaccused the White
House of orchestrating the Ukrainian crisis.
"I think what is happening now shows us who really was mastering the
process from the beginning. But in the beginning, the United States
preferred to remain in the shadow," Putin said this week.
http://rt.com/usa/156204-nato-vershbow-russia-adversary/
Published time: May 01, 2014 17:08
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow (AFP Photo /
Yuri Kadobnov)
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow now says that the
allied group has been compelled to treat Russia "as more of an enemy
than a partner," according to an Associated Press report published
Thursday.
The 61-year-old former United States ambassador to Russia reportedly
told journalists this week that Moscow's role in the ongoing crisis
in Ukraine has forced NATO to reconsider the alliance's opinion on
Russia, and that additional troops may soon be mobilized to the region
as tensions worsen.
AP journalist Robert Burns wrote on Thursday that Vershbow said the
Kremlin's perceived part in the recent events in Ukraine "marks a
turning point in decades of effort by NATO to draw Moscow closer."
NATO's second-in-command reportedly told journalists that the alliance
is now considering new measures meant to counter any future acts of
aggression on the part of Russia aimed at partner nations, and soon
could deploy a larger number of combat forces to Eastern Europe.
Journalists reporting for Civil.Ge wrote on Thursday that Vershbow
told the audience at a panel discussion in Washington, DC one day
earlier that NATO should deploy "defensive assets to the region."
"We need to step up our support for defense reforms and military
modernization of Russia's neighbors, and not just of Ukraine, but also
Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan," Vershbow said, according to
the Civil Georgia site.
NATO should think about "upgrading" joint exercises among partner
nations, the site quoted Vershbow as saying during the event,
while acknowledging that deploying forces to Georgia would be a
"controversial" maneuver.
"It is also important for the United States to show leadership... to
make sure that next steps that NATO will make, for example at the
summit in September, will be adequate response to what's happening in
Ukraine," the Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania said during
the discussion.
"The West should now seize the opportunity and create the reality on
the ground by accepting membership of aspirant countries, by putting
purely defensive assets in aspirant countries and predominantly
in Georgia," Alasania added. "What is important now is to put some
deterrent capabilities on the ground like air defense and anti-armor
capabilities that will give us a chance to defend our freedom, because
we know that if things go wrong at this point no one is coming to
save us; we've seen that in 2008."
Earlier this week, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said the
builduip of NATO troops near Russia's border was "unprecedented."
Weeks earlier, the US Air Force commander in charge of NATO's military
presence in Europe said that US troops may soon be deployed to the
region as tensions continue to worsen near the border between Ukraine
and Russia.
For weeks now, officials in Washington and Kiev have claimed that the
recent separation of Crimea from Ukraine and the rash of uprisings in
the country's eastern part are the direct result of destabilization
efforts spearheaded by Moscow, and both the US and European Union have
introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia as a result. The
Kremlin has refuted these claims and rebuffed the sanctions, however,
and earlier this week Russian Pres. Vladimir Putinaccused the White
House of orchestrating the Ukrainian crisis.
"I think what is happening now shows us who really was mastering the
process from the beginning. But in the beginning, the United States
preferred to remain in the shadow," Putin said this week.