Nato no longer bound to earlier commitments to Russia: deputy chief

Riga, Latvia, May 30 (EFE).- Nato is no longer bound by a 1997 agreement with Russia that limits the deployment of Nato troops in central and eastern Europe, the Alliance’s deputy secretary general, Mircea Geoana, told Lithuanian reporters.

“Russia has basically abolished any content of this founding act,” he told a Nato Parliamentary Assembly in Vilnius on Sunday.

“It has taken decisions, it has made commitments not to commit aggression against its neighbors, which it does, and to consult regularly with Nato, which it does not,” he added.

Geoana said Baltic countries were demanding for Nato to deploy permanent troops to the eastern flank in face of the Russian threat and that the Alliance was prepared to do so.

“We no longer face any constraints to have a strong Nato presence in the eastern flank and to make sure that every square inch of NATO’s territory is protected by Nato’s Article Five and our allies,” he said.

Referring to the war in Ukraine, Geoana said “Russia’s brutality knows no bounds” and that it was destroying the lives of millions of Ukrainians. EFE

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