NATO

Former NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin "only respects a firm and steady hand."

NATO, with the participation of a Turkish frigate, has begun a new standing maritime security operation in the Mediterranean Sea named Operation Sea Guardian.

NATO's new maritime security operation, Sea Guardian, which kicked off on Wednesday in the central Mediterranean with the participation of a Greek submarine and a Turkish frigate, is seen as symbolic of the need for cooperation between the two countries.

The chairman of the parliamentary group of GERB Tsvetan Tsvetanov expects the USA to continue to be a strong factor in NATO. "I am convinced that he will not change drastically the course of the USA and they will remain an extremely strong factor in NATO."

The Bulgarian government has given the green light to a deployment of 10 troops to a mission of NATO in Kosovo.

Sofia will contribute to the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance battalion of the NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR), which nowadays involves several thousand troops assigned with maintaining safety, security and freedom of movement.

Russia will not succeed in destabilizing the Balkans, former NATO Secretary General Andres Fogh Rasmussen has told Radio Free Europe (RFE).

The KKE-affiliated PAME trade union has announced that it will hold a rally in central Omonia Square to protest the visit to Athens by US President Barack Obama on November 15.

The USA will deploy nearly 6,000 troops in Europe this winter, announced the US Department of Defense.

The additional anti-tank brigade that will be sent to Europe numbers 4,000 troops. The USA will deploy an additional 1,750 troops with the 10th mountain division.

Earlier, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter stated that the additional anti-tank brigade will arrive in February.

Serbian authorities have released Hilmi Kelmendi after detaining him last Friday on a war crimes arrest warrant.

Kelmendi, suspected of committing war crimes in Kosovo, was arrested while entering Serbia from Croatia. Beta is quoting the KTV broadcaster that reported his lawyer Sead Spahovic confirmed his release.

Photo: EPA/S. SABAWOON

BELGRADE - Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that, no matter what are the results of the presidential elections in the United States, the leadership of that country should actively participate in resolving global conflicts.