Wednesday, 05 March 2014 16:26 |
March 5, 2014 -- (TRN) -- *** BREAKING NEWS *** The government of Turkey had GRANTED PERMISSION for a United States Navy warship to enter the Black Sea via the Bosporus Straight at Istanbul. The vessel is one ship from the USS George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group which arrived in the Aegean off the coast of Greece yesterday. It will enter the Black Sea within the next 48 hours, likely at night for security reasons.
Turkey is not saying which ship was given permission, but did say that it was NOT the George H.W. Bush. That means, at the very least, a U.S. Navy Destroyer or Guided Missile Cruiser will enter the Black Sea within the next 48 hours via the Bosporus Strait. Either type of vessel would bring enormous firepower to the region, and afford the United States the ability to respond quickly to developments on the Crimean peninsula - or elsewhere in the Ukraine.
Our previous story, reporting that the U.S. had dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group to the region, can be viewed HERE. Confirming source: HERE
In related news, NATO has suspended all military cooperation with Russia over the situation in the Ukraine.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters that the international body had decided to "put the entire range of NATO-Russia cooperation under review" to send "a clear message Russia's actions have consequences."
Planning for the first NATO-Russia joint mission -- the maritime escort of a U.S. ship involved in neutralizing chemical weapons -- has been suspended, though the decision will not affect the destruction of chemical weapons, he said. And no staff-level civilian or military meetings with Russia will take place "for now," Rasmussen said.
NATO Council decided today, to expand practical cooperation with Ukraine, including joint exercises. On March 5, said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on the results of an extraordinary meeting of the NATO Council in Ukraine.
He stressed that the decision on Ukraine's accession to NATO "belongs to the people of Ukraine," while "NATO's door remains open."
OSCE TO SEND OBSERVERS
Eighteen countries of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have decided to send their military observers to Ukraine.
The OSCE press service said the group would be made up of 35 unarmed military experts.
The matter was discussed at a joint meeting of the Permanent Council and the Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC) in Vienna on March 4, 2014.
The visit is taking place under Chapter III of the Vienna Document 2011, which allows for voluntary hosting of visits to dispel concerns about unusual military activities. Ukraine has requested all OSCE participating States to send military representatives from 5 to 12 March 2014, starting in Odessa. This is the first time this mechanism has been activated.
As of now, eighteen OSCE participating States have responded positively to the request sending up to two representatives each. Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States. One representative from the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre will also be participating. The military visit participants are on their way to Ukraine now.
Also today, the Polish Parliament adopted a resolution of. solidarity with Ukraine, which stressed the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and also said that political and military actions of Russia against Ukraine, especially Crimea, are a violation of the rights of a sovereign state.
Lastly, The Pentagon has announced plans to more than double its commitment of aircraft to joint NATO-policing missions in the Baltics |
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