PM: Deploying NATO troops in Ukraine unjustified

NATO should not deploy its troops in Ukraine even in the event of further acts of aggression on the part of Russia, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said in a statement for the ctk news agency on Thursday. The prime minister stressed that since NATO’s character and role are essentially defensive the alliance should only respond with military force if one of its member states comes under attack. The statement is in sharp contrast with the view expressed by President Miloš Zeman who has urged the toughest possible EU sanctions and even a NATO military presence in Ukraine should Russia try to annex any other parts of the country. The crisis in Ukraine is expected to be high on the agenda of Thursdays talks with the visiting NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen’.