Armed Forces of Montenegro will maintain its presence in NATO mission in Latvia by the end of 2021. The mission was undertaken in 2016, as a way of deterring Russia from exerting pressure on the Baltic states.
As balkansec.net reports, one reconnaissance division from Montenegro, one engineer pioneer division and staff officers will be rotating in the six-month long mandate in a “Enhanced Forward Presence” mission (EFP).
EFP battalion in Latvia consists of soldiers from Canada, Montenegro, Slovenia, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, Albania and Poland.
“The first rotation sent from Montenegro between December 2018 and June 2019 was a reconnaissance division that had eight people in it and one staff officer. Engineer division is in Latvia now, and in December, it will be replaced with a reconnaissance group”.
Elements of the Armed Forces of Montenegro are part of the multinational battalion fight group “Latvia”, in which Canada plays the role of a country-leader.
Battalion units are allowed to move all over Latvia for the purposes of training and fulfillment of tasks. However, Montenegrin soldiers are required not to enter the area of 5 km from the Russian border.
Montenegro relies on Slovenia’s partner support in the preparation and engagement of its national element in the EFP and that’s why the training is done in Slovenia.
EFP mission was undertaken in order to protect Eastern European countries and deter Russia from exerting pressure on Baltic States.
Four multinational battalions have been formed and they have been deployed in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, one battalion in each country. Battalions are led by forces from the USA, Great Britain, Canada and Germany.
