NATO to set up two more headquarters in Eastern Europe

NATO Defense Ministers on Thursday agreed to set up two more small headquarters in Hungary and Slovakia to ensure the fast deploying of NATO forces at a meeting.

"We have just taken steps to make the Alliance's collective defense stronger," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at press conference following a meeting of the North Atlantic Council of Defense Ministers.

"We now have everything in place to make the Response Force stronger, faster and more capable," Stoltenberg said.

Two more small headquarters, called NATO Force Integration Units (NFIUs) in Hungary and Slovakia "will make it easier for our forces to deploy. Whether it is to conduct an exercise or to confront a threat," he said.

The units are part of the readiness action plan, the biggest reinforcement of NATO's collective defense since the end of the Cold War. Six other NFIUs have been activated in September in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania.

The defense ministers also held discussions on Syria. "We see an escalation of Russian military activity in Syria. And the ministers agreed that Russia's military escalation in Syria raises serious concerns," said the NATO chief.

Stoltenberg called on Russia "to play a constructive role in the fight against ISIL," adding that NATO stands in strong solidarity with Turkey, which became a member of the Alliance since 1952. Endit