Stoltenberg shows how NATO is responding to Russia's aggression

Secretary - General NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, told the Voice of America that the Alliance is responding to Russia's aggression by adding the number of troops to its eastern wing and to the Baltic countries.

Stoltenberg was in Washington to meet with President Donald Trump and other senior American officials, with whom he discussed among other things increasing NATO military spending.

NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said Russia has become more aggressive, so the Alliance is responding by adding reinforcements -- the largest since the Cold War.

This is being done by adding troops east of the Alliance and the Baltic countries to Poland, but with greater willingness of our forces. We should do more in this respect and increase our forces' readiness during NATO's July summit in Brussels”, Stoltenberg said.

He said Moscow is investing more in modern military equipment. Russia, he said, is using military force against a neighbour, Ukraine, illegally annexing Crimea, as well as using what he called hybrid tactics, a combination of military action with intervention in election processes and cyber attacks.

All this, the head said NATO wants an answer from the Alliance and it is responding. He said there are critical needs for NATO forces to be able to move to the Atlantic and across Europe.

“We are in the process of establishing a new command of the joint force that will focus on the Atlantic, and the United States has offered to establish command of this new force in Norfolk, Virginia. We're also creating a new command for mobility and reinforcement across Europe, and the Germans have offered to have it headquartered on their territory”.

Asked if you still see Turkey as a NATO ally, Mr. Stoltenberg said: “Turkey is an ally and an important ally, much more for its geographic location on the border with Iraq and Syria. Turkey has been important in the fight against Daesh or ISIS. They used infrastructure and air bases to fight I SIS, now on the run”.

Stoltenberg acknowledged that Turkey has some disagreements with NATO allies and urged Ankara and the allies to sit down and resolve the differences between them.