Former Foreign, Defense Ministers Urge NATO, Russia To Cooperate
A group of former foreign and defense ministers is urging Russia and NATO to come up with a set of rules to handle unexpected military encounters.
The group of 14 -- including former Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, ex-German Defense Minister Volker Ruehe, and colleagues from Britain, France, Spain, and Turkey -- said rules for communication at sea and in the air were paramount.
Russia and NATO have both conducted a higher than usual number of military drills because of the crisis in Ukraine, leading to a rise in near misses between rival military jets.
"The situation is ripe with potential for either dangerous miscalculation or an accident that could trigger a worsening of the crisis or even a direct military confrontation," they said in a report published on August 25 by the European Leadership Network.
The London-based think tank said it had recorded 66 "close military encounters" between Russian and NATO military forces and between Russia and neutral Sweden and Finland.
Based on reporting by Reuters
U.S. Marines Arrive In Bulgaria On Reassurance Mission
U.S. Marines accompanied by tanks, artillery, and light-armored reconnaissance vehicles have arrived in Bulgaria, part of a plan to train with allies to improve weapons skills and antiarmor tactics.
The U.S. Marine Corps Forces said on August 25 that some 160 Marines accompanied the tanks and artillery, which are traveling to the Novo Selo Training Range, a major military base in eastern Bulgaria, as part of the Black Sea Rotational Force. They will stay initially for three six-month rotations.
Marine leaders say the troop movement adds to U.S. and NATO reassurance efforts in Eastern Europe, where countries remain nervous over recent Russian assertiveness.
The Black Sea Rotational Force is a semiannual rotation of Marines and sailors under the U.S. European Command. It is based at the Mihail Kogalniceanu base in Romania near the Black Sea port of Constanta.
Based on reporting by AP and Stars & Stripes
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