Will NATO’s moves in Europe trigger a new Cold War?

Britain, Germany and the US have agreed a plan to send around 4,000 NATO soldiers to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, a decision that is likely to anger Russia.

It is NATO’s biggest military build-up in the region since the end of the Cold War. And although the troops will effectively sit near Russia’s border, NATO’s secretary general says the alliance is not trying to start a new Cold War.

NATO says the deployment is needed to deter an increasingly aggressive Russia.

It is one of a number of measures being implemented by the North Atlantic alliance to make sure its member states in Eastern Europe feel secure.

They include the creation of a 40,000-strong rapid reaction force as well as a so-called Spearhead force that could be deployed in a matter of days.

But will this deter what NATO calls an increasingly hostile Russian policy in the region?

Presenter: Dareen Abughaida

Guests:

Vladimir Sotnikov – Strategic analyst at the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Ted Seay – Senior policy consultant for the British American Security Information Council.

Magnus Nordenman – Director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative.