MADRID (Sputnik) — The ministry's representative told Sputnik that the issue was discussed between Deference Minister Maria Dolores de Cospedal and her counterparts from other NATO states during the ministerial meeting, currently held in Brussels. However, no information regarding the mission of the Spanish contingent was disclosed.
15 February 2017, 18:02 GMT
On Tuesday, the Delfi news portal reported that 350 personnel from mechanized infantry brigade dubbed Extremadura would move from its permanent base in Badajoz, and would then participate in NATO military exercises, set to take place in Latvia in mid-May.
Latvia became NATO member in 2004. During NATO July 2016 summit in Warsaw, it was decided to deploy four NATO multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in 2017.
NATO has been boosting its military presence in Europe, particularly in Eastern European states, since the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, citing Russia's alleged interference in that conflict as justification for the move.
