Germany mulls bolstering NATO in east

Germany says it is looking into the potential deployment of troops in Lithuania as means of reinforcing the eastern front of the NATO military alliance.

“We are currently reviewing how we can continue our engagement and perhaps even bolster it... in order to ensure the security of all (NATO) states, particularly in the east,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday.

The comments came amid continued strain in relations between Russia and NATO, which have been at odds since Ukraine’s Crimea region integrated into the Russian Federation following a referendum last March.

On April 1, 2014, the military alliance ended all practical cooperation with Russia over the ensuing crisis in Ukraine.

Last November, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance might station permanent military units in member states against what it calls threats from Russia.

His remarks signaled a transition from the policy the alliance has been maintaining vis-à-vis Moscow since 1997, when the two sides inked an agreement called the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation, and Security.

Under the deal, NATO agreed to refrain from any “additional permanent stationing of substantial combat forces” that might alarm the Kremlin.

SS