In A Concession To Russia, NATO Has Agreed To Not Substantially Increase It's Military Presence In Eastern Europe

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (L) speaks next to Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs (R), Radoslaw Sikorski at the Przezdziecki Palace in Warsaw May 7, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Filip Klimaszewski

NATO To Shun Substantial Eastern Footprint In Nod To Russia -- Stars and Stripes/Bloomberg

RIGA, Latzia — NATO will stop short of basing substantial combat forces in eastern Europe to avoid a complete rupture in relations with Russia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

A NATO summit next month will settle on other ways of protecting the alliance's eastern flank, including previously floated plans for more war-games, a more robust command structure and warehousing equipment that would be needed in an emergency, Merkel and allied officials said.

Defensive steps triggered by Russia's pressure on non-NATO member Ukraine "don't involve a permanent, sustained stationing of fighting troops, but we can strengthen our cooperation very much in other ways," Merkel told reporters today in Latvia, one of the frontline states pleading for more vigilance against the Kremlin.

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My Comment:  I  concur with this New York Time's post .... Germany's Angela Merkel is trying her best to defuse the situation from getting worse. This is also a major scale-down for NATO ... especially from what they were saying just a few weeks ago.