NATO foreign ministers approved plans to put together an interim rapidly deploy-able force in early 2015 to reassure NATO's eastern allies and deter Russian aggression in the region when they met in Brussels on 2 December. This interim force will fill the gap until the alliance can put together a larger such force sometime in 2016. "This is proof we are implementing our RAP (Readiness Action Plan) sooner than expected," NATO Secretary General Jens Stol-tenberg told reporters before the meeting. The RAP was announced at NATO's 4-5 September summit in Wales and calls for setting up before the end of 2 016 a very-high-readiness joint task force, or 'spearhead', consisting of battalions, the number of which has yet to be determined.
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