Something pleasant to look at in eastern Ukraine, for a change:
By RFE/RL
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said moves to bolster the alliance's eastern flank are a "defensive" response to the "aggressive actions of Russia" and urged Moscow to use "all its influence" with separatists in eastern Ukraine to press them into complying with a shattered September cease-fire deal.
Stoltenberg spoke before a February 5 meeting in Brussels at which NATO defense ministers are expected to discuss the establishment of a network of small command centers that could rapidly reinforce the region in the event of any threat from Russia, decide on the makeup of a new rapid-reaction force, and agree to expand a corps-level headquarters in western Poland.
He said the moves were a response to Russia's "violations of international law," including the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March.
Stoltenberg said that "all practical cooperation" between NATO and Russia remains suspended and that a planned meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a February 6-8 security conference in Munich would be part of an effort to keep "channels for dialogue" open.