NATO Hopes to Assure Allies While Saving Refugees

NATO’s mission in the Aegean Sea in the spring of 2016 seems aimed as much at deterring Russia as saving lives. It could lead to confrontation.

At the NATO Summit on 8-9 July 2016, NATO approved Operation Sea Guardian, which will complement and support Operation Sophia, the existing EU naval intervention, in its mission to tackle people smugglers and implement the UN arms embargo on Libya. But apart from providing intelligence and surveillance resources, it was not clear what NATO’s contribution would be.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: NATO Secretary General welcomes expansion of NATO deployment in the Aegean Sea http://www.europeansources.info/record/nato-secretary-general-welcomes-expansion-of-nato-deployment-in-the-aegean-sea/

ESO: Background information: NATO Defence Ministers Agree on NATO support to assist with the Refugee and Migrant Crisis http://www.europeansources.info/record/nato-defence-ministers-agree-on-nato-support-to-assist-with-the-refugee-and-migrant-crisis/

ESO: Background information: No denial: how NATO can deter a creeping Russian threat http://www.europeansources.info/record/no-denial-how-nato-can-deter-a-creeping-russian-threat/

ESO: Background information: Towards a New Equilibrium: Minimising the risks of NATO and Russia’s new military postures http://www.europeansources.info/record/towards-a-new-equilibrium-minimising-the-risks-of-nato-and-russias-new-military-postures/

NATO: News, 09.03.16: Standing NATO Maritime Group Two expands area of activities http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_129103.htm

EUObserver, 10.07.16: Nato to join EU warships in Libya migrant operation https://euobserver.com/migration/134278

NATO: Topics, June 2016: Assistance for the refugee and migrant crisis in the Aegean Sea http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_128746.htm

ECFR: Commentary, 12.07.16: After Warsaw: A 3-point plan to manage migration through Libya http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_after_warsaw_a_3_point_plan_to_manage_migration_through_7072

NATO: Topics: Operation Sea Guardian http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_136233.htm

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