As NATO Foreign Ministers Meet,Battle Group Develops Tactical Skills Nearby

The NATO Foreign Ministerial is underway in Riga,Latvia .The foreign ministers will discuss current challenges to the security of NATO and the Euro-atlantic Area caused by the activity of Russian forces at the border with Ukraine,and the migrant crisis at the Polish-Belarus border,the Polish Foreign Ministry said.They will also discuss preparations for the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid,and consult with the foreign ministers of NATO Partners Georgia and Ukraine. With regard to the Russian buildup,on 26 November the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs,Karen Donfried,briefed reporters by phone,saying: As you can appreciate,all options are on the table and there's a toolkit that contains a whole range of options.It's now for NATO to decide what are the next moves that NATO wants to take...we will talk about our assessment of what's happening on Russia's border with Ukraine and we will begin the conversation of what are the options on the table,and what it is that NATO would like to do together.* NATO Seceretary General Jens Stoltenberg added that: If Russia uses force against Ukraine,that will have costs,that would have consequences...This military buildup is unprovoked and unexplained.It raises tensions and it risks miscalculations...this is a miltary buildup by a country that has invaded Ukraine before.* Latvia's Foreign Minister Artis Pabrik called for a US military deployment on Monday before the Foreign Ministerial began: We need additional international assistance.We would like to have a permanent United States presence in our country.And sea and air defence means basically going down to such systems as Patriot (missiles)...We have revsionism at this moment going on in Russia (the desire to reconstitute the Soviet Union having been expressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin)...from that perspective,we cannot be late here.* Meanwhile,NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Latvia,led by Canada,was practising the defence of the Latvian capital,Riga,in a snowy Latvian forest at the Adazi Training Ground,simulating the disruption of an enemy advance from north of Riga.Exercise Winter Shield 2021 runs from 22 November to 4 December,developing the cooperation and cohesion needed to protect the Baltic Sea Region.A mechanised brigade of Latvia's Home Guard;Lithuanian Armed Forces;and US Army Europe troops are participating in the drills with the eFP Battle Group,which consists of Soldiers from Albania;Canada;Czech Republic;Italy;Iceland;Montenegro;Poland;Slovakia;Slovenia;and Spain.