TALLINN. Nov 23 (Interfax) - Estonia is expecting its European NATO allies to follow the United States' example and increase their military presence in the region.
"Very soon we are hoping to see our European NATO allies' ground forces in Estonia making their big contribution to security," Estonian Defence Forces' Commander Lt. Gen. Riho Terras was quoted by the Estonian Defense Ministry spokesperson as telling U.S. Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford in Pentagon on Saturday.
The general thanked the U.S. for its quick and positive response to Estonia's request to increase its military presence.
By following suit, NATO's European members "would once again confirm the unity of the alliance and give our troops an opportunity to undergo training with a significantly larger number of partners," Terras said.
"Estonia and other states in the region have significantly increased their defense spending and are ready to make an important contribution in the deployment of allied forces in the region and the creation of conditions for personnel training," Terras said.
Hopefully, the 2016 NATO summit in Warsaw "will send a clear signal that the deployment of allied forces in the alliance's member states in Eastern and Central Europe will be long-term and create potent measures to rein in Russia's aggressive aspirations," the Estonian commander said.