No new Nato bases in eastern Europe

CARDIFF - Poland has confirmed there will be no new Nato bases in eastern Europe to deter Moscow, while France has indicated it is keen to get its warship delivery to Russia back on track.

Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski told press on Thursday (4 September), the first day of a Nato summit in Wales, that Nato is creating a new “spearhead” force to counter potential Russian aggression against its eastern flank.

But he said it will only have airfields, vehicle parks, and ammunition depots in eastern Europe to help it deploy more quickly, rather than fully-fledged bases containing US or other Nato states' soldiers.

He noted that whether or not there are “permanent” bases in the region is “a matter of semantics, diplomacy - what matters from a defence point of view is how effective the force is”. But he also voiced disappointment that new members do not have the same level of security as, say, Germany or the Netherlands.

The Baltic states and Poland had pushed, at the least, for the new force to have command and control headquarters in the region.

But Nato officials said “there is no question” of allies breaking the terms of a 1997 accord with Russia which forbids new military facilities under its nose.

Komorowski added that despite the set-back, Friday's summit conclusions will mark out Russia as Nato's new priority.

"The vision of the alliance as an expeditionary force which operates out-of-area [Afghanistan] is passing into history and the traditional role of the alliance, which specialises in the defence of its member states, is returning", he noted.

With the UK and US leaders the same day saying Nato might play a role in fighting the Islamic State in Iraq, the Polish statement is a bold one.

But Nato officials told EUobserver the “spearhead” force is just part of a broader Russia containment plan.

The alliance’s Article V currently speaks of collective defence in case of territorial aggression. But a Nato source said in future it could be triggered by novel forms of attack, such as cyber or economic warfare.

“The intelligence community is looking very intensely at what is happening in Ukraine right now, so that in future we can spot signs of this new form of hybrid warfare in our own member states".

Nato officials painted a grim picture of the situation in Ukraine ahead of Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Minsk on Friday.

A second Nato source said “several thousand” Russian soldiers, including “hundreds of tanks, armoured vehicles, and artillery pieces” are fighting in the east and south of the country.

“They are fighting as formed units rather than being disseminated among the rebels … their objective appears to be to freeze the conflict, to create a situation like South Ossetia [a Russian stronghold in Georgia], where the rebels are entrenched for the long term”.

'Cautious optimism'

But for his part, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said he has to be “cautiously optimistic” about the Friday talks because he must do what he can to stop people being killed.

Poroshenko attended the Nato event and will co-sign its communique on Friday in a Western show of solidarity.

In more practical terms, he said some Nato states on Thursday promised support “in the area of non-lethal and lethal equipment, including high-precision weapons”.

Nato itself pledged €15 million for a new fund to help build up the Ukrainian military’s cyberdefence, command and control, logistical, and medical capabilities.

But Nato head Anders Fogh Rasmussen i said he is sceptical the Minsk talks will succeed.

He noted the best way to push Russia to a diplomatic solution is through “deeper, broader, tighter economic sanctions” if it does not back off.

EU sanctions talks

EU countries will in Brussels on Friday decide how hard to hit Russia’s banks, oil, and defence firms in case the Minsk talks fail.

But despite Nato's preoccupation with the Russian threat, some EU countries are keen to return to business as usual with Moscow as soon as possible.

France on Wednesday froze the delivery of a high-end warship to Russia due to the Ukraine cirisis. But when asked by press on Thursday if it can be unfrozen, French president Francois Hollande i said: "What are the conditions? A ceasefire and a political solution. Today, these conditions are not being met”.