WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will consult with European leaders on Monday afternoon, as pressure mounts between Russia and NATO over Ukraine.
NATO said on Monday it would move more military equipment and troops to countries on the alliance’s eastern front. Russia has amassed at least 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine, threatening that the conflict is necessary to preserve its national security.
On Monday, the Pentagon announced it would put 8,500 US troops on “high alert” for possible deployment to Eastern Europe amid the crisis.
“No decisions have been made to deploy United States forces at this time,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said during a briefing on Monday.
Kirby added that many of the troops placed on alert had already received orders to prepare to mobilize within 10 days. That will now be shortened to five days for some, but not all, notified service members.
“It is very clear that the Russians at this point have no intention of de-escalation,” Kirby said in response to a question about the timing of the decision. The Pentagon “wanted to make sure we were ready,” he added.
Denmark is sending a frigate and deploying F-16 fighter jets to Lithuania; Spain will send warships and could send fighter planes to Bulgaria; and France is ready to send troops to Romania.
“We will always respond to any deterioration in our security environment, including by strengthening our collective defense,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. said in a statement.
Biden said last week that the United States would move more troops and equipment to eastern NATO countries if Russia continues to threaten an invasion.
“We have never ruled out providing additional assistance to countries on the eastern flank in advance of any invasion,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a regular news conference on Monday. He said talks with allies about deploying US troops and weapons are “ongoing.”
On Sunday, the United States ordered the families of American diplomats to leave Kiev, a move that several European diplomats called premature. The UK announced the same move on Monday, saying it was “in response to the growing threat from Russia”.
“Now is the time to leave, and there are means to do so,” Psaki said in a message to Americans in Ukraine, noting that the situation was similar to emergency calls to evacuate in Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan, among others. .
She said there are no plans to evacuate Americans from Ukraine on military planes, except families of American diplomats. Other Americans have been encouraged to leave via available commercial flights.
Diplomatic talks between the West and Russia slowed as negotiations expanded into a broader debate about the security structure of post-Cold War Europe.
The White House said that Biden will speak Monday afternoon via video call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, NATO’s Stoltenberg, Polish President Andrzej. Duda and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The Kremlin criticized NATO’s troop movements, arguing that the West’s mobilization was inciting “hysteria”.
Ireland, a non-NATO country, said Russia has held military exercises off its coast, a move that was not welcomed.
European Union foreign ministers reconvened to show a united front supporting Ukraine in an effort to downplay concerns that Europe would not respond cohesively to Russian aggression.
Learn more:What is happening on the Ukrainian border? Putin’s buildup of Russian troops sparks concern
Asked if the EU evacuate families of diplomats from UkraineEU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: “We are not going to do the same.” He said he is eager to hear from Secretary of State Antony Blinken on that decision.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said the US decision was “a premature step” and a sign of “excessive caution.” He said that Russia is sowing panic among Ukrainians and foreigners to destabilize Ukraine.
Germany is monitoring developments, but Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed that “we must not contribute to further disturbing the situation; we must continue to support the Ukrainian government very clearly and, above all, maintain the stability of the country.” .
Gas prices play a role in EU unity over Russia
Various political, business and energy interests have long divided the 27 EU countries in their rapprochement with Moscow. About 40% of the EU’s natural gas imports come from Russia, much of it through pipelines in Ukraine.
Gas prices have soared and Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said Russian energy giant Gazprom cut its exports to the EU at the end of 2021 despite high prices. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Gazprom is honoring its contractual obligations, not putting pressure on Europe.
Germany’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia, which is complete but not yet pumping gas, has become a bargaining chip. French President Macron renewed calls for an EU summit with Putin.
Late last year, France and Germany expressed doubts about US intelligence assessments that Moscow might be preparing to invade.
On Saturday night, the head of the German navy, Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schonbach, resigned after saying that Ukraine would not retake the Crimean peninsula and suggested that Putin deserves “respect”.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban plans to meet Putin next week to discuss a Russian-backed project to expand a Hungarian nuclear power plant.
Diplomats and officials said tough sanctions are being worked out with the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission. They were reluctant to say what the measures might be or what action by Russia might trigger them.
The aim, they said, is to try to match the doubts Putin has sown about his intentions for Ukraine with uncertainty about what any retaliatory European action would look like, or when it would come.
Follow Matthew Brown online @mrbrownsir.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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