Defence secretary says ‘small number’ will be sent to Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as tensions rise between west and Russia following Syria airstrikes

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Britain is to station troops in the Baltic states to shore up Nato’s eastern borders and deter Russian aggression, the UK defence secretary, Michael Fallon, has said.

Fallon announced the commitment upon arrival at the quarterly meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels. The deployment is intended to reassure former Soviet bloc members in light of increased tension between Russia and Ukraine.

“This is further reassurance for our allies on the eastern flank of Nato – for the Baltic states and for Poland,” said Fallon. “That is part of our more persistent presence on the eastern side of Nato to respond to any further provocation and aggression.”

He said the British troops would be “part of a more persistent presence by Nato forces” in the region.

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Those UK service personnel would be part of a new Nato training, evaluation and capacity-building mission in Poland and Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, he said. “They will be part of a more persistent presence by Nato forces.”

The troops will join German and US troops already there and the commitment will initially comprise about 100 troops.

The move comes against a backdrop of heightened tension between the west and Moscow, following Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch airstrikes in Syria.

The Russians insist they are targeting Isis, but western powers say they have largely hit mainstream opposition forces and are primarily designed to bolster the regime of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad.

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“Russia is making a very serious situation in Syria much more dangerous,” Fallon said. “We will be calling on Russia specifically to stop propping up the Assad regime, to use their influence constructively to stop Assad bombing his own civilians and themselves to avoid the use of unguided munitions in areas that are not being controlled by Isil [Isis].”

“If Russia wants to help here, the single most helpful thing they can do is use their influence on Assad to stop barrel-bombing his own civilians, their children, his own cities and villages. That’s how Russia could help to resolve this conflict.”

RAF Typhoon fighters are already deployed in eastern Europe as part of the Baltic air policing detachment and in June they were scrambled from Amari airbase in Estonia to intercept and shadow two Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea.

The Financial Times reports that troops will be stationed in the area over the long-term, but the time frame will be left open-ended to avoid accusations that they are breaching an agreement, struck after the end of the cold war, not to have permanent troop placements in former eastern bloc nations.

In May, US air force general Philip Breedlove said Nato would have to consider permanently stationing troops in parts of eastern Europe as a result of the increased tension between Russia and Ukraine.



