Nato ministers approve new force for eastern Europe

Nato defence ministers on Wednesday approved a new multinational force to beef up defences of frontline alliance members most at risk from Russia, the alliance's secretary general announced.

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg.

Jens Stoltenberg said the new unit approved by the United States and Nato's 27 other members will be multinational and rotate in and out of eastern European member states rather than being based there. He said military planners will decide on its composition this spring.

The new force "will be multinational to make clear that an attack against one ally is any attack against all allies and that the alliance as a whole will respond", Stoltenberg told a news conference following the first session of the two-day defence ministers' meeting.


Getting firm commitments, or even deciding how many Nato troops should be rotated eastward, may take time, however. Douglas Lute, US ambassador to Nato, said he expected ministers this week to agree on "a framework", but that actual force levels will probably be hammered out only after consultations with Nato's supreme commander in Europe, US Force General Philip Breedlove.

One Nato official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to make public statements, told The Associated Press one proposal being considered calls for the creation of a brigade-sized unit: roughly 3 000 troops.

Reinforcing Nato's presence in Poland and other allies close to Russia "will send a clear signal", Stoltenberg said earlier on Wednesday. "Nato will respond as one to any aggression against any ally."

In the discussions held at Nato headquarters, US Defence Secretary Ash Carter and his counterparts from Canada and the alliance's European members are also expected to discuss what other countries can do to better deter Russia following the Obama administration's February 2 announcement that it wants to quadruple spending on US troops and training in Europe.

A senior Nato official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss internal alliance deliberations, said the US hopes its European Nato partners will commit to new investments for deterrence that would correspond to the $3.4bn in extra spending and troops, equipment and training moves the Pentagon is proposing.