Victoria Nuland: Our persistent military presence in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Baltic states sends a powerful message of deterrence

Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, held a speech at the Berlin Security Conference on Tuesday, underling that the US’s persistent military presence in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Baltic states sends a powerful message of deterrence, the US Department of State informs.
“As NATO Allies, we are also supporting those countries on the Alliance’s Eastern edge that worry they could be the Kremlin’s next victims. Our persistent military presence on land, sea, and air in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Baltic states sends a powerful message of deterrence. We call on all Allies to continue to contribute generously to this mission – 28 for 28 –even as we call on Allies in the East to show solidarity with those countries facing security challenges from the South,” Victoria Nuland underscored.
She added: “Whether we’re talking about Ukraine, strengthening NATO, improving global security, defeating terror, or strengthening our prosperity and our free market way of life, the United States, Canada, and Europe need each other more than ever. We – the Transatlantic community – are strongest, safest, and most prosperous when we stand together against today’s evils and challenges, and when we live our values at home, and support them globally.”

Other issues approached:
– Our hearts are with all those who have lost loved ones in recent weeks: in France, in Turkey, in Lebanon, and over the Sinai en route home to Russia.
– our gathering here takes on increased meaning in the wake of the heinous terror attacks in Paris.
– When madmen with guns and suicide belts can kill at will in our restaurants, our concert halls, and our sports stadiums, our first thought is of course to withdraw, to hug our own loved ones close, to retreat behind the walls of our homes and fight for civilization only in our immediate environment.
– let the terror in Paris call us once again to unite in defense of our security, our freedom, our democratic values.
– We must stand together in defense of the same principles that have united us every time we have been called to defeat tyranny together: our right to live together in peace, in security, and in freedom, in open and tolerant societies.
– the viciousness of Da’esh, the suffering in Syria, the violence in Eastern Ukraine, the implications of climate change, the risk of infectious disease – sooner, rather than later, they can show up on our streets. So we must act, and we must do so together.
– We will use our military when we must; diplomacy whenever we can; innovation and free-market economies to advance new solutions when we find them.
– The fight against Da’esh requires all of this.
– In this regard, the work NATO and EU nations are doing together in the Counter-ISIL Coalition, in the International Syria Support Group talks on a diplomatic solution, in New York and through our banks to cut off terrorist financing, and even in the US-EU data privacy and Safe Harbor discussions, should all be seen as aspects of the same fight.
– Today, 93 percent of Ukraine survives as a democratic state in association with Europe because Ukrainians fought and died for their rights, and our nations stood with the people of Ukraine. We have given political, economic, and security support; we imposed successively harsh rounds of sanctions to bring Russia to the negotiating table. Now we have to help Ukraine see it through.
– We must maintain pressure on Russia and its separatist proxies to complete the unfinished commitments of Minsk, including: the return of all hostages; full humanitarian access for UN agencies, NGOs, and government relief agencies; free, fair elections in Donbas under the Ukrainian constitution monitored by ODIHR; the removal of all foreign forces and weapons; and the return of the international border to Ukraine. Sanctions are an essential tool for holding Russia accountable: they must be rolled over until Minsk is fully implemented. And we must keep our Crimea-related sanctions in place until Russia returns the peninsula to Ukraine.
– The U.S. is closely coordinating with the EU to advance crucial energy projects that will turn Europe into the energy-rich powerhouse it deserves to be.
– Whether we’re talking about Ukraine, strengthening NATO, improving global security, defeating terror, or strengthening our prosperity and our free market way of life, the United States, Canada, and Europe need each other more than ever.