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                   Russia Concerns Driving Neighbors to NATO

   by Daniel Schearf

   Concern about Russian aggression has led Russian neighbors in the North
   Atlantic Treaty Organization to urge troop build-ups in their
   countries.
   As Poland's President Andrzej Duda is sworn in to office Thursday, he
   and a growing chorus of voices in eastern Europe are calling for
   permanent NATO troops to warn off threats from Russia.
   Keir Giles, a Russian expert at Chatham House, spoke to VOA via Skype.
   "It is still the case that the further east you go in Europe, the
   greater the threat perception from Russia and the more direct the
   problem seems to be, the more immediate their concerns are," said
   Giles.
   Poland shares a border with Kaliningrad, one of Russia's most heavily
   militarized areas, and Moscow would likely view a permanent NATO
   presence in Poland as an act of aggression.
   Giles says Russia's actions in Ukraine concerned Europeans about its
   intentions for former Soviet states.
   "So, this is not a new issue.  It is one that Poland in particular and
   the Baltic states have been mentioning for some considerable time.  It
   is just that before the Ukraine crisis they were viewed within NATO,
   and to some extent within the EU, as troublemakers who were making a
   fuss about Russia, when really there was not a problem there.  Now, of
   course, they have proved entirely correct," he said.
   Since 2014, Russian warplanes have violated neighboring airspace at a
   rate not seen since the Cold War, with NATO jets scrambling to
   intercept them.
   Giles argues the Kremlin is looking to correct the loss of its global
   influence by projecting power.
   "Because it has been stated repeatedly within Russia that some of the
   Baltic states, the former Soviet territories in particular, are former
   Russian territories.  That has been something that has been said
   directly by President Putin.  And, Russia has demonstrated twice now in
   the past seven years that it is quite content to use military force
   against its neighbors in order to re-draw borders," said Giles.
   Baltic nations worry the Kremlin could allege repression of their
   ethnic Russian populations as an excuse for taking territory, as it did
   in Ukraine.
   In June NATO announced it would reinforce alliance members who felt
   threatened by Russia.  Former NATO information office director in
   Moscow, Robert Pszczel:
   "There are no hidden intentions and there is nothing sort of
   intrinsically anti-Russian.  But at the same time, we need ... NATO
   nations have to respond to the real security challenges which Russia's
   actions have become," said Pszczel.
   Since the Ukraine crisis, Russian state media have been painting NATO
   as encircling Russia.
   NATO's largest military exercises in more than a decade begin in
   October, involving 36,000 troops from 30 countries, and like all
   scheduled NATO drills, Russia has been invited to attend.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-concerns-driving-neighbors-to-
   nato/2903033.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/russia-concerns-driving-neighbors-to-nato/2903033.html