 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 by Staff Writers Vilnius (AFP) Oct 21, 2019
The United States on Monday began deploying a battalion of troops and dozens of tanks to Lithuania for an unprecedented six-month rotation, a move sought by the Baltic EU and NATO state to deter neighbouring Russia. Dozens of Abrams tanks and Bradley armoured vehicles arrived by railway at the army training area in Pabrade. Lithuania's Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis said the deployment of some 500 US troops scheduled to stay through the winter proves that a US military presence on NATO's eastern flank "is no longer a taboo". "First and foremost, it is a message to Lithuania and neighbouring NATO states that allies are together with us," the minister told AFP. "And it is also a message to Russia that the US is engaged, and it is an additional deterrence element," he added. Ben Hodges, the former commander of US Army forces in Europe, said the US deployment was a "manifestation of American commitment to continued deterrence along NATO's eastern flank", at the time when US was pulling American troops out of Syria and abandoning its Kurdish allies. "Nobody, including the Russians, should be confused by the Americans' commitment to NATO despite what was I think a mistake of pulling out of Syria," Hodges told AFP via telephone. Two years ago, NATO deployed a German-led multinational battalion of around 1,000 troops to Lithuania, an EU and NATO nation of 2,8 million people. The alliance installed similar battalions in Poland and Baltic states Estonia and Latvia as tripwires against possible Russian adventurism in the region after Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The entire region had been dominated by the Soviet Union for more than 40 years after World War II.
China slams US restrictions on Chinese diplomats as 'groundless' Beijing (AFP) Oct 17, 2019 China on Thursday slammed as "groundless" a US decision to order Chinese diplomats to notify the State Department before meeting with local officials, in the latest spat to strain bilateral relations. Washington - which called the move "reciprocal" - announced the decision Wednesday in response to the inability of US diplomats to meet with a range of Chinese officials and academics, a senior State Department official said, speaking anonymously. "What the US has said about China restricting th ... read more
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
