NATO

AGERPRES special correspondent Mihaela Tudorache reports - Minister of National Defence, Mircea Dusa, on Thursday announced that NATO will be soon present in our country, with two command centres to be established here in the coming period.

NATO's defence ministers approved at their meeting on Thursday the immediate establishment of six command and control units on its eastern flank.

The six countries that are to host the command centres are Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania.

Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev announced that no legislative amendments are required for the hosting of the proposed NATO command centre in Sofia.

Nenchev said that there is no need for parliament to express its opinion on the future command centre, as this was required neither by the constitution nor by any other law.

NATO was set Feb. 5 to agree a major boost to its defences including six bases in eastern Europe and a spearhead force of 5,000 troops in response to what it called Russian aggression in Ukraine.
      

Sparks also flew within the NATO framework this week as the new Greek government attempts to find its European and international “groove”, with Athens on Thursday angrily responding to the German defence minister’s comment of “Greeece jeopardizing its position in NATO by approaching Russian interests.”

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The Minister of National Defence Panos Kammenos accompanied by the Chief of HNDGS General Michail Kostarakos met on Wednesday with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow at NATO Headquarters, Brussels.

The Minister of National Defence stated the following:

Greece's new government remains committed to its NATO role despite close ties with Russia that have worried its allies, Defense Minister Panos Kammenos told AFP on Wednesday.

The defence ministers of NATO member states are to gather at a one-day meeting on Thursday in Brussels, where they are expected to decide on the stationing of the proposed command centres on the Alliance's eastern flank.

The focus will be the implementation of the Readiness Action Plan, which had been approved at the NATO Wales Summit in September 2014.

The Bulgarian government proposed an amendment to the Defence Act, which would allow for the stationing of the proposed NATO command centre in the country.

The bill will provide an international organisation functioning on the country's territory with the legal right to supplement its personnel with Bulgarian troops and citizens, Darik radio reports.