ESTONIA APPROVES PARTICIPATION IN NATO RESPONSE

UNCLAS TALLINN 000548 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PARM MARR EN SUBJECT: ESTONIA APPROVES PARTICIPATION IN NATO RESPONSE FORCE ¶1. (U) On June 7 the Parliament (Riigikogu) passed a Resolution for the participation of the Estonian Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team in the NATO Response Force (NRF). This marks the first time that Estonia has contributed ground forces to the NRF. The resolution grants permission for the participation of up to a 15 troop EOD mine clearance unit in the NRF from July 1 till the end of 2006, during which time will remain in a state of readiness. Estonian's contribution will be a part of the NRF-7. ¶2. (U) The Resolution is not intended for any specific military operation, but is seen as a military necessity for any operations where Estonian troops are needed. Defense Minister Jurgen Ligi said that the Estonian team would be dealing with conventional ammunition and explosive devices but not with Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). WOS