Category: NATOSource

Montenegro Sending Troops to NATO Afghanistan Force

By AP via Winnipeg Free Press

From AP via Winnipeg Free Press: Thirty-one soldiers from tiny Montenegro are on their way to replace the country’s NATO-led contingent now serving in Afghanistan. Montenegro Defence Minister Boro Vucinic said Friday the soldiers will serve together with the Hungarian units based in northern Afghanistan under German command.

Europe’s Last Dictator Under Pressure from Moscow

By Benjamin Bidder, der Spiegel

From Benjamin Bidder, der Spiegel:  The 65-year-old [President of Belarus Alexander] Lukashenko has been in office for 16 years, but never before have Moscow and the Belarusian autocrat had such irreconcilable differences. Bilateral relations have never been as bad as they are now, says the Belarusian political scientist Alexander Klaskovski.

Our Lesser-Known Allies in Afghanistan

By Mark Larson, the New York Times

From Mark Larson, the New York Times:  What do the Greek, Mongolian, Latvian and British Armies have in common? They’ve all been in Afghanistan before: the Greeks under Alexander; the Mongols under Genghis Khan; the Latvians as part of the Soviet Union; and the British more than a few times. They are also current members […]

Kyrgyzstan Approaches Kremlin-led Security Org. for Help

By Olga Dzyubenko and Alexei Anishchuk, Reuters

Russia Opens Bidding for Warship Deal

By AFP, via DefenseNews

From AFP, via DefenseNews: Russia is throwing open its planned purchase of a helicopter carrier to a tender involving foreign and Russian firms, ending France’s status as the exclusive bidder, a shipbuilding official said Aug. 19. Russia has been negotiating with France for months to buy the Mistral-class ships, in its first ever purchase of […]

As Others Plan Troop Recalls, Romania Stands Behind Afghanistan Mission

By Tony Perry, LA Times

From Tony Perry, LA Times: As Romanian military and civilian officials mingled at a VIP reception aboard a yacht that belonged to executed dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, a U.S. Navy band played an American selection: the Gershwins, Cole Porter and Broadway show tunes.

Russia in talks to supply helicopters to NATO

By Richard Boudreaux, Wall Street Journal

From Richard Boudreaux, Wall Street Journal:  Russia is negotiating the sale of about 20 helicopters for Afghanistan, stepping up efforts to help the country’s U.S.-backed government battle the Taliban insurgency and drug traffickers. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that Russia also had begun supplying firearms for the Afghan Interior Ministry and for police training. […]

Romania orders Russian diplomat out of country

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Bucharest has declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata in yet another spy scandal after Moscow detained a Romanian official on similar grounds, a Romanian news agency reported on Wednesday. MEDIAFAX said that the first secretary of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, Anatoly Akopov, was declared persona non grata in a tit-for-tat […]

A Mission to Modernize Germany’s Armed Forces

By Judy Dempsey, New York Times

From Judy Dempsey, New York Times:  On Friday, the German defense minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, is set to present to Chancellor Angela Merkel his plans to modernize the Bundeswehr, the country’s armed forces. From all accounts, it could be one of the most radical and long overdue shake-ups undertaken in decades by a defense minister. […]