RIGA: NATO staged a major military exercise in Latvia yesterday in a practical demonstration of NATO leaders’ commitment to defend its Baltic member states in the face of an assertive Russia.
A NATO meeting in Wales on Friday agreed to form a new rapid reaction force and to step up exercises in eastern Europe in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Allies in the Baltics fear Russian President Vladimir Putin could use the same rationale as he used to explain intervention in Crimea — defending Russian speakers — to justify an attack against one of the NATO countries in the Baltics, which also have Russian-speaking minorities.
REUTERS
