Jens Stoltenberg
© Francois Lenoir / Reuters
NATO plans to boost its Response Force, the alliance's secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, said, adding that two more headquarters are to be created in Eastern Europe, in Hungary and Slovakia.

Calling the current reinforcement the biggest "since the end of the Cold War," Stoltenberg said the alliance has stepped up exercises and already set up six small headquarters in Eastern Europe.

"Today I expect us to approve the establishment of two more such headquarters in Hungary and Slovakia. They will ensure that our forces can move quickly and effectively if they need to deploy," NATO's Secretary-General told journalists in a press briefing Thursday.


Comment: Just in case Hungary and Slovakia decide to look to Russia.


The alliance will also "give final approval to the military concept" for the NATO Response Force to make it "bigger, faster and more capable", Stoltenberg said after the defense ministers' meeting.


Russian news agencies TASS and RIA say the Response Force will be boosted to 40,000.

Established in 2003, the NATO Response Force is a high readiness force comprising of land, air, sea, and special forces units which are capable of rapid deployment. It is designed to perform a range of tasks, including immediate defense response, crisis management, peace support operations, disaster relief, and the protection of critical infrastructure.


Comment: They forgot to mention regime change.


According to Stoltenberg, the military alliance is currently facing many challenges, one of them is refugee crisis which he called "a tragic result of the turmoil we see to our south."

In the meantime, Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson, said that NATO actions won't contribute to stabilization of the situation in Europe.