Free Republic

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — NATO doesn't want a "new Cold War" with Russia despite members' concerns about the Russian military buildup close to NATO's border, the alliance's secretary general said Monday. Jens Stoltenberg was speaking at the end of a four-day NATO parliamentary assembly in the Romanian capital, Bucharest. "We are concerned by .... (Russia's) lack of transparency when it comes to military exercises," he said.

Biggest reinforcement of our collective defence" since the end of the Cold War says Nato. Nato is preparing for its "biggest reinforcement" of its collective defence since the end of the Cold War amid growing tensions with Russia. The alliance's secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said that hundreds of thousands of troops will be put on a higher state of alert. Nato commanders are also preparing a substantial land force to deter growing Russian aggression. The Times said that although Stoltenberg did not provide exact figures, Sir Adam Thomson, the UK's outgoing permanent representative to Nato, said that he believed the target...

Daniel Kawczynski, Member of Foreign Affairs Select Committee and Chairman of the All Party Group for Poland, is the latest high profile Member of Parliament to call for a change in the relationship between NATO and Russia, specifically asking for a reversal of the military build-up on the Russian and NATO borders and a de-escalation of the recent tensions. Mr. Kawczynski, writing in a letter to the Telegraph newspaper, said whilst acknowledging that many in the London political circles “are suspicious of Russian motives and intentions” and see Russia as “causing concern for European security particularly over her actions in...

NATO made a formal invitation on Thursday to tiny Montenegro to join the alliance as its 29th member. NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels signed the accession protocol under the eyes of the Montenegrin prime minister, Milo Djukanovic. The membership must be approved by all 28 national governments or parliaments, including the United States Senate. When an informal invitation was made to Montenegro in December, Russia responded angrily. Montenegro has a population of about 600,000 and little military capacity, but in December, Adm. Vladimir Komoyedov, the chairman of the Russian Parliament’s defense committee, said, “They are ready to admit even...

The 28-nation US-led group agreed to start the entry process at a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels this morning, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. The move will be seen as a warning to the Kremlin that its influence in the region is waning, despite a show of strength during last year's annexation of Crimea and the subsequernt bombing campaign in Syria. In retaliation, Russia has warned that Montenegro will be punished for the action.

<p>Under the new arrangement, Russia will have more authority in the new body than in an earlier, less formal arrangement set up several years ago to try to nudge Moscow closer to the West.</p> <p>Even so, its future involvement will be limited to certain areas. They include crisis management, peacekeeping and such military areas as air defense, search-and-rescue operations and joint exercises.</p>