Deputy: U.S. to allot $25 million for expansion of Estonia airbase
TALLINN. Dec 11 (Interfax) - The United States will allot $25 million from the Congress-backed defense budget to support the expanding infrastructure of the Amari airbase in Estonia, Estonian Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Marko Mihkelson said after his visit to the United States.
He said the funds would be assigned to support U.S. President Barack Obama's European security initiative, a source in the parliament press service told Interfax on Thursday.
"The expanded Amari airbase may become a NATO training center in a few years and permanently accommodate a large number of planes on the rotation basis," Mihkelson said.
The violation of the Estonian airspace by a Russian reconnaissance plane on Tuesday and the recent extensive drill in the Baltic Sea region demonstrate "the growing activity and aggressiveness of Russia as regards Western countries," he said.
The airspace violation registered by Estonia "shows how important the deployment of a NATO airspace security mission in Amari is," Mihkelson said. "This will help NATO give a more rapid and more effective response to the violation of our airspace and to identify or repel the transgressors," the parliamentary commission leader said.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry refuted reports alleging a breach of Estonian airspace by a Russian warplane on Wednesday.