Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are in favor of holding joint military exercises
The Defense Ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey have agreed to hold joint military exercises in order to increase the combat readiness of their armed forces. This was said by the Head of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov.
“We are in favor of conducting trilateral military exercises with the aim of raising the level of combat readiness of our armed forces. We also hope to establish cooperation in the field of military education, to develop cooperation in …
Estonian Defense Minister favors the deployment of NATO equipment near the borders of the country
The Estonian daily newspaper Postimees reported that the Estonian Minister of Defense, Hannes Hanso, favored the deployment of NATO heavy military equipment near the country’s borders.
“We want NATO heavy military equipment to be deployed closer to Estonia rather than a thousand miles away from it. For our part, in alliance with Latvia and Lithuania, we will do our best to ensure simplified transportation of the units across the state border and provision of weapons to our allies,” Hanso noted. …
Ukraine to discuss conditions of Russia's participation in Eurovision 2017
Only Russian performers who “understand that the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of the Donbas is a crime” should be allowed to participate in the Eurovision contest in 2017, according to a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the Narodny Front, Anton Herashchenko. He said this on the 15th of May while at the Govorit Moskva radio station.
According to him, Kiev “does not see any obstacles” for contestants who “do not speak out in support of Russia’s aggressive policies” and who “do not …
Ukraine receives demining equipment from the EU
The European Union, in partnership with the Danish Refugee Council and the Danish Demining Group, gave the Ukrainian State Emergency Service (GSCHS) 200,000 euros worth of demining equipment for use in the Donbas, RBC-Ukraine reported.
"This is class 4 body armor, Kevlar helmets. This equipment is very necessary to us,” a representative of the GSCHS, Oleh Bondar, stated.
The equipment can locate mines at a depth of 3 meters.
“We must ask the aggressor country [Russia] when they will stop …
Lithuania to increase defense budget
According to an estimate of the Ministry of Finance, Lithuania intends to increase defense spending by 150 million euros next year, up to 725 million euros, Kauno Diena reported.
The current Lithuanian military budget is 575 million euros, approximately 1.48% of the country’s GDP. It is expected that next year's defense spending will rise to 725 million euros, or 1.77% of GDP.
According to Lithuanian Minister of Defense Juozas Olekas, the country plans to spend 2% of GDP on defense in 2018. …