President Biden sending more troops to Europe amid Ukraine tension
President Joe Biden is sending about 2,000 troops from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Poland and Germany this week and shifting roughly 1,000 Germany-based soldiers to Romania, a senior administration official said Wednesday.
Biden has said he will not put American troops in Ukraine to fight any Russian incursion, although the United States is supplying Ukraine with weapons to defend itself.
The military moves come amid stalled talks with Russia over its military buildup at Ukraine바카라 게임 웹사이트s borders. And they underscore growing fears across Europe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to invade Ukraine. Smaller NATO countries on the alliance's eastern flank worry they could be next, although Russia has said it has no intention of initiating conflict and is willing to continue diplomatic efforts.
The administration official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military moves not yet announced.
Biden had said recently that he intended to provide additional U.S. forces to NATO allies in Eastern Europe as reassurance of an American commitment as treaty allies.
The Pentagon also has put about 8,500 U.S.-based troops on higher alert for possible deployment to Europe as additional reassurance to allies, and officials have indicated the possibility that additional units could be placed on higher alert soon. The U.S. already has between 75,000 and 80,000 troops in Europe as permanently stationed forces and as part of regular rotations in place such as Poland.
Washington and Moscow have been at loggerheads over Ukraine, with little sign of a diplomatic path forward. A Spanish newspaper on Wednesday reported that the United States could be willing to enter into an agreement with Russia to ease tensions over missile deployments in Europe if Moscow steps back from the brink in Ukraine.
The daily El Pais published two documents purported to be written replies from the United States and NATO last week to Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트s proposals for a new security arrangement in Europe. The U.S. State department declined to comment on them.
In reference to the second document, NATO said that it never comments on 바카라 게임 웹사이트alleged leaks.바카라 게임 웹사이트 But the text closely reflects statements made to the media last week by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as he laid out the 30-nation military organization바카라 게임 웹사이트s position on Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트s demands.
The U.S. document, marked as a confidential 바카라 게임 웹사이트non-paper,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said that the United States would be willing to discuss in consultation with its NATO partners 바카라 게임 웹사이트a transparency mechanism to confirm the absences of Tomahawk cruise missiles at Aegis Ashore sites in Romania and Poland.바카라 게임 웹사이트
That would happen on condition that Russia 바카라 게임 웹사이트offers reciprocal transparency measures on two ground-launched missiles bases of our choosing in Russia.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Aegis Ashore is a system for defending against short- or intermediate-range missiles. Russia argues the site in Romania could be easily adapted to fire cruise missiles instead of interceptors, which ram their target and do not carry warheads, a claim that Washington has denied.
Russian President Vladimir Putin again mentioned the possibility Tuesday, saying that 바카라 게임 웹사이트there are MK-41 launchers there that could be configured for firing Tomahawks.바카라 게임 웹사이트 He said they 바카라 게임 웹사이트are offensive systems that could reach thousands of kilometers into our territory. Isn바카라 게임 웹사이트t that a threat to us?바카라 게임 웹사이트
The U.S. document said Washington would have to consult with NATO allies on the potential offer, particularly with Romania and Poland.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the leaked documents, saying only that 바카라 게임 웹사이트we didn바카라 게임 웹사이트t release anything.바카라 게임 웹사이트 In comments to the state RIA Novosti news agency, Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트s Foreign Ministry also refused to confirm or deny that the documents published by El Pais were authentic.
Fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine have mounted in recent months, after Putin deployed more than 100,000 troops to areas near Ukraine바카라 게임 웹사이트s borders, including in neighboring Belarus, backed by tanks, artillery, helicopters and warplanes. Russian officials have insisted that Moscow has no intention of invading.
The U.S. underlined after its written proposals in the leaked document that 바카라 게임 웹사이트progress can only be achieved on these issues in an environment of de-escalation with respect to Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트s threatening actions towards Ukraine.바카라 게임 웹사이트
In his first public remarks on the standoff in more than a month, Putin on Tuesday accused the U.S. and its allies of ignoring Russia바카라 게임 웹사이트s central security demands but he said that Moscow is willing to talk more to ease tensions over Ukraine.
His remarks suggested that a potential Russian invasion may not be imminent and that at least one more round of diplomacy is likely.
After talks in Kyiv Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte underlined that 바카라 게임 웹사이트it is essential for dialogue to continue.바카라 게임 웹사이트 If not, Rutte, said, 바카라 게임 웹사이트it is clear that further aggression against Ukraine will have serious consequences."
Russia's military buildup has already taken a toll on Ukraine's economy, but Zelenskyy said his government has taken steps to calm the markets and the local currency, the hryvnia. He said Ukraine has also boosted its combat and armed forces capabilities, but underlined that "we think only about peace and de-occupation of (our) territories, solely through diplomatic means.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Notable in its absence from the leaked documents is any mention of Ukraine바카라 게임 웹사이트s hopes of joining NATO. Putin has demanded that NATO stop taking in any new members and withdraw its troops and equipment from countries that joined the alliance since 1997, almost half its ranks.
In the leaked document linked to NATO, the 30 allies said they 바카라 게임 웹사이트reaffirm our commitment to NATO바카라 게임 웹사이트s Open Door policy,바카라 게임 웹사이트 without specifically mentioning Ukraine. Under Article 10 of NATO바카라 게임 웹사이트s founding treaty, other European countries may be invited in if they further the goals of European security.
At a NATO summit in 2008, NATO leaders said that they welcomed 바카라 게임 웹사이트Ukraine바카라 게임 웹사이트s and Georgia바카라 게임 웹사이트s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO," adding: "We agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Russia invaded Georgia later that year, and in 2014 annexed Ukraine바카라 게임 웹사이트s Crimean Peninsula. Around 14,000 people have been killed in the conflict that still simmers in eastern Ukraine. Their membership plans have been on hold for years, although NATO continues to support them and promote reforms.
___
Litvinova reported from Moscow. Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Matthew Lee, Lolita C. Baldor and Robert Burns in Washington, Aritz Parra in Madrid and Mike Corder in The Hague contributed to this report.