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NATO official visits Estonia to discuss deployment of additional forces

Xinhua, February 9, 2017 Adjust font size:

A senior commander of NATO forces visited Estonia on Wednesday to discuss the planned deployment of additional NATO forces in this Baltic country.

Visiting Commander of NATO's Allied Land Command Lieutenant General Darryl A. Williams met with Brigadier General Indrek Sirel, deputy commander of the Estonian Defense Forces.

During his stay in Estonia, Williams was briefed about the security situation in the Baltic Sea region. He visited Estonia's NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU) and the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence in Tallinn, according to representatives of the Estonian military.

Sirel said the deployment of multinational battalion-size NATO battle groups in the Baltic states and Poland is an "important measure of deterrence in which land forces are playing the key role."

"We have to make sure that these units' operations in the form of joint training exercises are well coordinated and supported by our own defense forces, as well as contribute to collective defense," Sirel added.

Over 1,000 soldiers from Britain and France along with heavy military equipment are due to start arriving in Estonia in April in accordance with an agreement reached at NATO's Warsaw Summit on the deployment of multinational NATO battle groups in the Baltic states and Poland. Endit