|
BRUSSELS, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- NATO allies on Wednesday confirmed contributions to the multinational battalions in eastern Europe at a defence ministers meeting.
NATO defence ministers assessed progress in plans for a strengthened NATO presence in the eastern part of the Alliance, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the press conference following the meeting.
At Warsaw Summit, NATO nations decided to have four multinational battalions stationed in the Baltic states and Poland from early 2017. Canada, Germany, Britain and the United States will each lead a battalion.
Stoltenberg announced that many other allies confirmed contributions to these forces at the ministerial meeting.
"Albania, Italy, Poland and Slovenia will contribute to the Canadian-led battalion in Latvia. Belgium, Croatia, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Norway will join the German-led battalion in Lithuania. Denmark and France will contribute to the UK-led battalion in Estonia. And Romania and the United Kingdom will join the U.S.-led battalion in Poland," he added.
"Our forces will be truly multinational," said Stoltenberg, saying that sends a strong message of NATO's collective defence.
NATO defence ministers also discussed progress in strengthening NATO's presence in the Black Sea region. "Several nations indicated their willingness to contribute on land, at sea and in the air," Stoltenberg noted.
NATO defence ministers met in Brussels to take forward decisions made at the Warsaw Summit in July.
