NATO–Russia relations

Senior Russian and NATO military chiefs on March 3 held their first phone talks since ties between the two sides collapsed over the crisis in Ukraine, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said.  

European member-states and Canada have increased defence expenditures by 3.8%, announced NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

"This is significantly more than we envisaged initially. Roughly speaking, this is about USD 10 B more for our defence. The amount is considerable but it is vital that we continue at the same pace," stated Stoltenberg.

Turkish officers who work in NATO structures have requested asylum in the countries where they have been deployed, confirmed NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Defense ministers discussed strengthening NATO's presence in the Black Sea region on land as well as in the air and at sea, the alliance's secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, told reporters after the first day of the NATO Defense Ministers Meeting in Brussels on Oct. 26.

At the meeting of the defence ministers of NATO countries on Wednesday, the UK undertook the obligation to send fighter jets to Romania in 2017, while the USA promised Poland military forces, tanks and artillery - the biggest deployment of the alliance at Russia's borders since the end of the Cold War, reported Reuters.

Nato countries are taking part in their biggest ever joint military exercises in Poland, amid concerns about a potential threat from Russia.
Some 31,000 Polish, US and other troops are participating in the land, sea and air exercises called Anaconda-16.

Actually, the tension is not only between Turkey and Russia but between the NATO alliance and Russia. NATO's Parliamentary Assembly urged its 28 members on May 30, after sessions in Tirana, to stand up to Russia's military "assertiveness" and "to provide reassurance" to those allies who feel their security is under threat, "focusing on the eastern and southern flanks of the alliance."

US Ambassador to Bulgaria Eric Seth Rubin has said his country deploy an additional number of troops and provide more trainings next year.

Answering to questions during his meeting with members of the American Chamber of Commerce, he has added the move will be part of an overall boost in capabilities deployed to the Black Sea region.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Romania's Prime Minister, Dacian Ciolos, and US Deputy Defence Secretary Bob Work took part in the ceremony that marked the activation the anti-missile system at the US Navy base at Deveselu.

Russia accused the United States on April 21 of intimidation by sailing a U.S. naval destroyer close to Russia's border in the Baltics and warned that the Russian military would respond with "all necessary measures" to any future incidents.