NATO To Step Up Military Deployment Near Ukraine: Rasmussen

Berlin, Mar 30, IRNA -- Outgoing NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced plans to increase the military presence of the western military alliance in the Ukrainian crisis region, the Munich-based weekly Focus news magazine reported Saturday. ˈWe are now contemplating a review of our contingency plans, a military exercise and an adequate boosting of our troop presence,ˈ Rasmussen was quoted saying. For example, additional fighter jets will be deployed in the Baltic States, he added. Backed by the US, several Eastern European and Baltic states, among them Poland and Romania, have pressed NATO to boost its deployment in the Ukrainian crisis region. Meanwhile, Rasmussen reaffirmed his support for a diplomatic solution to the Crimean crisis. He reiterated that the West would not recognize Russiaˈs annexation of Crimea. Rasmussen expressed also concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin was planning further military interventions in the region./end