NATO prepares rapid force in Eastern Europe

(Vatican Radio) NATO’s secretary general says the military alliance is preparing a high-readiness force to help member states against what Western leaders view as Russian aggression, but he cautioned  Ukraine will have to wait to join the organization. NATO has accused Russia of supporting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine with weapons and troops, after it already annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. 

Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said leaders of the alliance will be asked this week to approve the creation of a high-readiness force, backed by air and naval assets, and the stockpiling of military equipment in Eastern Europe. 

The moves comes after several Eastern European countries expressed concern that the recent conflict between pro-Russian separatists and government forces could spread beyond Ukraine's borders. 

The countries believe they have reason to be worried: they were occupied by Soviet forces for decades. 

DEMANDING BETTER DEFENSE 

Poland and other Eastern European member states of have demanded the alliance takes a more active role in defending them. 

Rasmussen made clear that a new force would be discussed during an upcoming NATO summit in Wales, attended by President Barack Obama and other leaders.   

"We will develop what I would call a spearhead within our response force," he explained. [It's] a very high-readiness force able to deploy at very short notice. Not because NATO wants to attack anyone, but because the dangers and the threats are more present and more visible, Rasmussen said. 

And, he warned: "We will do what it takes to defend our allies."      

UKRAINE JOINING NATO 

Rasmussen also made clear that NATO "fully respect" any potential decision by Ukraine to try to join the alliance, after Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said his government has sent Parliament a bill that would allow the nation to open a path towards membership. 

But the NATO leader also made clear that Ukraine's membership is still years away.

Analysts say there is little appetite within NATO for Ukraine or other aspirants, such as Georgia or Montenegro, to move closer to membership in the current security climate. 

In 2008, Germany and France opposed a decision to give Ukraine and Georgia a so-called Membership Action Plan, a first step to joining NATO, despite American  pressure to approve the move.