It is scheduled to meet the defense ministers of the NATO countries on Wednesday and Thursday, to decide on issuing an order to military leaders to develop plans for the deployment of combat groups, each of which has a strength of regarding a thousand soldiers, in Bulgaria and Romania, and possibly in Slovakia and Hungary.
With the United States warning of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, diplomats told Archyde.com it was likely that ministers would agree to the first step, which is to ask military leaders to develop a detailed plan to deploy the four battle groups on the ground.
As a high-ranking NATO diplomat stressed: “There will be a mandate that allows us to escalate, or de-escalate, if Russia withdraws its forces.”
It is noteworthy that Ukraine is not a member of NATO, and that there is no treaty obligating it to defend it. Any final decision on the deployment of troops will be made at a later time, while France and Bulgaria have offered to lead battle groups in Romania and Bulgaria, respectively.
Frequency in Hungary and Slovakia
As part of its justification for the deployment of forces, NATO asserts that the composition of the combat groups used in the Baltic region is not a permanent concentration of its forces, but rather a “continuous rotation” to keep soldiers in the region and to make it a first line of defense in the face of any Russian invasion of countries within the alliance.
For his part, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hinted earlier at the possibility of deploying more battle groups, saying on February 7: “We are considering making longer-term adjustments to the presence and strength of forces in the eastern part of the alliance,” pointing out He added that “a final decision has not been taken yet, but there is a process already underway within the alliance.”
An official in the French presidency said that French forces will be deployed in Romania only following the alliance has made its decision, and that the formation and arming of combat groups may take time.
But with Hungary and Slovakia careful not to anger Russia, diplomats said the alliance might avoid deploying troops to the southeast in a manner similar to battle groups to the Baltics.
Alternatively, NATO may resort to creating a French-led multinational force in Romania that coordinates allied training exercises in Eastern Europe, allowing the movement of troops to and from the region without an official presence.
