Reuters
Turkey took over command of the NATO High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) on the first day of the new year, according to the Turkish newspaper Zaman.
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A statement issued by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) indicated that about 4,200 soldiers will be stationed at the command of the 66th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Turkey as part of the Joint Task Force within the framework of the NATO Response Force, which will include 6,400 personnel on duty, with the addition of soldiers from Albania and Hungary. Italy, Lithuania, Monte Negro, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Britain and the United States.
Turkey took over command of NATO’s highly prepared Joint Task Force from Poland for a year.
The NATO statement added, “Turkey has made significant investments in the unit, which is the most mobile in NATO, especially in planning its logistical requirements and ammunition.”
NATO stated in its statement that it was decided to establish the task force in 2014, in order to “respond to the changing security environment, including Russia’s destabilization of Ukraine and unrest in the Middle East.”
The statement confirmed that the forces would be ready to deploy within days.
It is worth noting that relations between Turkey and NATO have been tense for years due to the Turkish government’s purchase and operation of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, which the United States considers to be a security threat to all NATO systems if they are integrated into their existing systems in Turkey.
Source: Zaman Newspaper
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