THE HAGUE, February 9. /TASS/. Commander of the Dutch Armed Forces General Onno Eichelsheim announced NATO's readiness to strengthen its military presence in the Arctic.
"We, NATO, are demonstrating our readiness to make greater efforts to strengthen our position in the Arctic," he said in an interview with the Defensiekrant newspaper. According to Eichelsheim, the alliance is discussing expanding the scope of its exercises in the Arctic, as well as launching a mission to ensure the security of Greenland.
The general also said that the Netherlands "has the capabilities to operate in the Arctic" and sees this as a good idea, although no final decision has been made yet.
In February, Der Spiegel magazine reported that NATO in Europe had begun planning Operation Arctic Sentry, an idea put forward at the beginning of the year, but for some time the alliance was unsure whether the US would support the start of detailed planning. According to sources in Brussels, a breakthrough was achieved during a telephone conversation between NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and US President Donald Trump.