The recent NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland, decided on deploying its forces in Eastern Europe and the shores of the Black Sea.



It announced that it would deploy four battalions in Poland and three other Baltic countries reportedly to protect its member nations from “invasion” of Russia.



Accordingly, 4 000 troops are said to be committed to the region including US forces to be dispatched to Poland.



It is said that Germany, Britain and Canada are to respectively command the battalions in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia which will be formed with the forces from France, Belgium, Denmark and Norway.



President Obama declared his country would position about 1 000 troops in Poland.



NATO plans to deploy a new brigade in the region along the Black Sea and set up its base in Romania to train the multinational forces.



As of now it has deployed in East European countries about 1 200 pieces of combat and technical equipment including over 30 fighters and over 1 000 troops of the US and West European countries.



The NATO secretary-general said at a press conference that the units to be deployed according to the decision of the summit would regard an attack on any one of its member countries as an assault on itself.



Its arms buildup and nuclear threat in Eastern Europe are eliciting great wariness and opposition of Russia.



President Putin stated NATO is destroying the military balance that has been established for decades and warned that Russia would take countermeasures by always keeping the moves of NATO within its sight.



His press secretary said that to talk about threat from Russia is unreasonable at the time when dozens of people have been killed in the heart of Europe and hundreds are slaughtered in the Middle East every day, emphasizing that NATO’s expansion policy destroys the foundation of European security, causes instability in the continent and encroaches on the interests of its member sates.



The Russian permanent representative to NATO asserted that to ease and stabilize the situation NATO should discontinue arms buildup and military activities near the Russian border and withdraw its already-deployed forces.



Saying NATO compels Russia to reorganize its armed forces in line with the prevailing situation, he noted that the organization has no reason for conducting military activities in Eastern Europe and Russia will do everything possible to defend the stability of the country.



Russia is taking practical action as a show of its tough confrontational stance.



Its western military district recently staged exercises to improve its unified command system while its helicopters conducted a strike drill in Leningrad. In Crimea helicopters and aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet conducted a military rehearsal of destroying enemy submarines and firing missiles to coastal positions.



The growing conflict between Russia and NATO is aggravating tension in Eastern Europe.



By Kim Rye Yong PT

More From Pyongyang Times