United Kingdom is planning to deploy troops in several Baltic countries amid growing tensions between the West and Russia over Syria and Ukraine.
The UK defense secretary Michael Fallon says Britain will send some of its troops to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. He made the announcement upon his return from the NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels.
Fallon cited the increased tension between Russia and Ukraine as the reason for the troop deployment. “This is further reassurance for our allies on the eastern flank of NATO,” he said.
Under the plan, initially some 100 British troops would be part of a new NATO training, evaluation and capacity-building mission which Fallon called “a more persistent presence by NATO forces.” The British personnel will join German and US troops already in the region.
The move comes against a backdrop of heightened tension between the West and Moscow, following Russia’s decision to launch airstrikes against terrorists in Syria.
The Russia campaign is in coordination with Damascus and has welcomed by several regional countries including Iran and Iraq. Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad called it vital for the entire Middle East. The move, however, drew criticism from several western governments including Britain who accused Moscow of targeting the US-backed so-called moderate terrorists.
Fallon said Russia is making a very serious situation in Syria which is much more dangerous. “We will be calling on Russia specifically to stop propping up the Assad regime.”
Some analysts believe the West and its regional backers are ratcheting up the confrontation in order to hide their own shortcomings.
“The Western powers mainly the United States, Britain and France are desperate actually to cover up their failure particularly in the Middle East and the very important fight that has been taking place against terrorism. They (the West) not only failed to tackle the issue of terrorism but they encouraged it after they failed to control the Middle East themselves. You know, the occupation of Iraq failed as the Iraqi people objected the occupation. And their attempts to destroy Syria also failed and they wanted to have Israel as a major power in the region”, Sabah Jawad, a London-based political analyst told Press TV.
“This [UK] government has no independent foreign policy. Whichever party rules the country, the policy belongs to the United States which calls the shot and the British government implements it”, he added.
The Russian airstrikes in Syria have antagonized the US and other NATO members who consider them a major challenge to their regional policies. But analysts say any counter-measure against the ongoing Russian attacks will expose these countries and their hidden agenda in the Middle East further; Press TV reported.
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