Foreign ministers from Nordic, Baltic and Visegrad countries have condemned the “Russian attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” They’ve called for an EU observer mission in Ukraine.<br /><br />A statement by the group of ministers, who met for a summit in Estonia on Thursday and Friday, said that “an act of aggression has been committed against a European country by Russian military forces.” <br /><br />Carl Bildt, Swedish Foreign Minister, attended the summit and explained that the Russian Federation has to do two things: “They have to take back the decision by the Federation Council, which was a decision to threaten an invasion of a neighbouring country. And they have to take their forces back to the barracks (bases) in Crimea.”<br /><br />Anders Borg, Swedish Foreign Minister, whose country has strong ties to the Baltics, said Russia was “a bit more erratic and unpredictable” and called for more defence spending. <br /><br />His statement came a day after Sweden moved two fighter jets to Gotland, a Baltic island almost demilitarized in recent years.<br /><br />Meanwhile, a US Navy guided-missile destroyer has passed through Turkey’s Bosphorus straits en route to the Black Sea. <br /><br />Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula extends into the north of the Black Sea and is home to Russia’s military base there in Sevastopol.<br /><br />A US military statement said “the ship will conduct a port visit and routine, planned exercises with allies and partners in the region.”<br /><br />The Pentagon is deploying F-16 jet fighters to the region, as well as 200 service personnel, for a training exercise in Poland, which has been expanded since the Ukraine crisis broke.
