NATO Ministers Agree to Beef up Defence Posture on Eastern Flank

NATO Defence Ministers have agreed on an enhanced forward presence on the eastern part of the Alliance, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.

The enhanced forward presence will be "multinational, to make clear that an attack against one Ally is an attack against all Allies, and that the Alliance as a whole will respond," Stoltenberg said in a statement after the first day of a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels.

Stoltenberg added that the multinational force will be rotational and will be supported by exercises; and it will be complemented by the necessary logistics and infrastructure to support pre-positioning and facilitate rapid reinforcement. 

The Associated Press quoted a NATO official speaking on condition of anonymity as saying that one proposal being considered calls for the creation of a brigade-sized unit, or roughly 3,000 troops. 

NATO will take further decisions at the Warsaw Summit in July, Stoltenberg added.

Also on Wednesday, Stoltenberg confirmed to reporters in Brussels that he plans to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the Munich security conference later this week as part of a regular political dialogue between NATO and Russia, newswires reported.