France to Send Troops to Estonia in 2017, to Lithuania in 2018 - Hollande

France will send troops to Estonia in 2017 and to Lithuania in 2018 within NATO battalions, French President Francois Hollande said at the Alliance's summit in Warsaw on Saturday.

WARSAW (Sputnik) — On Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at the NATO summit in Warsaw that the alliance would strengthen its military presence in Eastern Europe on a rotational basis with four battalions in Poland and in the Baltic nations.

Canada will deploy soldiers in Latvia, Germany will lead the battalion in Lithuania, the United Kingdom in Estonia, while the United States will serve as a framework nation in Poland, the NATO chief said.

"To increase our security response, we will have to enhance our force presence, and France will contribute to it. France will provide troops in Estonia with our British friends in 2017. In 2018, we will join Germany within framework of the brigade in Lithuania," Hollande said.

Since 2014, NATO has been building up its military presence in Europe, especially in Eastern European countries neighboring Russia, using Moscow’s alleged interference in the Ukrainian conflict as a pretext. Moscow has repeatedly denied the claims and warned NATO that the military buildup on Russia’s borders is provocative and threatens the existing strategic balance of power.