“Neptune Strike 22 will run through February 4 and are designed to demonstrate NATO’s ability to integrate the advanced naval strike force of an air group to support the alliance’s efforts in deterrence and defense,” said US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby.
Kirby stressed that these exercises have been in preparation since 2020 and have nothing to do with the current tensions around Ukraine, although “Neptune Strike 2022” is not included in the list of exercises scheduled for 2022 and published on the NATO website on December 14.
Kirby said that “the process itself is not designed to confront the scenarios that could occur” in the Ukraine file.
“It’s really a NATO naval exercise (…) designed to test a wide range of naval capabilities that we are keen to continue to enhance,” he added.
And on Thursday, Russia announced comprehensive naval exercises with the participation of more than 140 warships and about ten thousand soldiers, which will be held between January and February in the Atlantic, the Arctic, the Pacific and the Mediterranean.
Kirby acknowledged that the tension with Russia necessitated discussions with allies about conducting these exercises, and said, “After discussions with our NATO allies, it was decided to move forward.”
And the US aircraft carrier “Harry Truman” has been in the Mediterranean with its air group since mid-December.
The aircraft carrier was scheduled to join the Central Command Operations Area “Centcom”, but US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin decided at the end of December to keep it in the waters of the Mediterranean in order to “reassure” the Europeans in the midst of existing tensions with Russia.
Without mentioning the existing tensions over Ukraine, where Kiev and its Western allies accuse Moscow of massing 100,000 troops at the border in preparation for a possible invasion, the Pentagon stressed that the carrier’s change of course “reflects the need for a continued presence in Europe.”
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