06-14-2016 (Photo: Rex Tillerson, CEO of #Exxon #Mobil Corp, attends the 12th St. #Petersburg International ) http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/contact http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/schedules http://johnbatchelorshow.com/blog Twitter: @BatchelorShow

NATO Besieges Russia. Exxon-Mobil Breaks the Siege. Stephen F. Cohen, NYU, Princeton University. EastWestAccord.com.

“…We will agree to deploy by rotation four robust multinational battalions in the Baltic states and in #Poland,” said the Secretary General. He underlined that these battalions are part of a much bigger shift in NATO’s defence and deterrence posture, including a larger #NATO Response Force, a new Spearhead Force and 8 new small headquarters in the eastern part of the Alliance. “All together this strikes the right balance between a greater ability to reinforce, and boost our forward presence,” he added. NATO has also taken action to ensure that Allied troops can move faster across Europe, for exercises or reinforcements, if needed. “Last month, the Spearhead Force conducted an exercise which showed how far we have come. One thousand troops and four hundred military vehicles moved from #Spain to #Poland within four days,” said Mr. Stoltenberg. He stressed that NATO will continue to work to improve freedom of movement for Allied troops and equipment, because speed can make the difference when a crisis emerges. The Secretary General underscored that Allies must spend more on defence to sustain this shift in NATO’s defence posture. He highlighted that, following a long decline in defence spending, 2015 was the first year after many when the Alliance registered a small increase in defence spending. “Our estimates for 2016 show a further increase,” said Mr. Stoltenberg. The annual real change stands at around 1.5 percent, an increase of over 3 billion dollars, with twenty Allies planning to spend more on defence in real terms this year. “So this is real progress. After many years of going in the wrong direction, we are starting to go into the right direction,” he said.

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_132275.htm

“…Tillerson's presence is particularly significant because he will be the most high-profile representative of U.S. business at a time when Washington is taking a harder line than Europe on the need to keep sanctions in place. Tillerson is among other oil major chief executives on the forum agenda, including Robert Dudley of BP, Claudio Descalzi from ENI, Schlumberger’s Paal Kibsgaard and Patrick Pouyanne of Total. In 2014 Exxon was forced by the sanctions to suspend its joint operations with Russia's top oil producer Rosneft ROSN.MM in the offshore Arctic Kara sea oil field, where they successfully performed exploration drilling. The sanctions prevent Western companies from giving Russia technology for Arctic offshore, deepwater and shale oil development. After Exxon stepping back, Rosneft has not resumed drilling in the Arctic Kara Sea, citing the sanctions.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/14/reuters-exxon-ceo-back-at-russia-shindig-after-hiatus.html