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BRUSSELS (AP) xe2x80x94 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 Ukrainexe2x80x99s borders. And they underscore growing fears across Europe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to invade Ukraine. Smaller NATO countries on the alliancexe2x80x99s 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 Russiaxe2x80x99s 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 xe2x80x9calleged leaks.xe2x80x9d 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 organizationxe2x80x99s position on Russiaxe2x80x99s demands.
The U.S. document, marked as a confidential xe2x80x9cnon-paper,xe2x80x9d said that the United States would be willing to discuss in consultation with its NATO partners xe2x80x9ca transparency mechanism to confirm the absences of Tomahawk cruise missiles at Aegis Ashore sites in Romania and Poland.xe2x80x9d
That would happen on condition that Russia xe2x80x9coffers reciprocal transparency measures on two ground-launched missiles bases of our choosing in Russia.xe2x80x9d
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 xe2x80x9cthere are MK-41 launchers there that could be configured for firing Tomahawks.xe2x80x9d He said they xe2x80x9care offensive systems that could reach thousands of kilometers into our territory. Isnxe2x80x99t that a threat to us?xe2x80x9d
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 xe2x80x9cwe didnxe2x80x99t release anything.xe2x80x9d In comments to the state RIA Novosti news agency, Russiaxe2x80x99s 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 Ukrainexe2x80x99s 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 xe2x80x9cprogress can only be achieved on these issues in an environment of de-escalation with respect to Russiaxe2x80x99s threatening actions towards Ukraine.xe2x80x9d
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 Russiaxe2x80x99s 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 xe2x80x9cit is essential for dialogue to continue.xe2x80x9d If not, Rutte, said, xe2x80x9cit is clear that further aggression against Ukraine will have serious consequences.xe2x80x9d
Russiaxe2x80x99s military buildup has already taken a toll on Ukrainexe2x80x99s 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 xe2x80x9cwe think only about peace and de-occupation of (our) territories, solely through diplomatic means.xe2x80x9d
Notable in its absence from the leaked documents is any mention of Ukrainexe2x80x99s 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 xe2x80x9creaffirm our commitment to NATOxe2x80x99s Open Door policy,xe2x80x9d without specifically mentioning Ukraine. Under Article 10 of NATOxe2x80x99s 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 xe2x80x9cUkrainexe2x80x99s and Georgiaxe2x80x99s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO,xe2x80x9d adding: xe2x80x9cWe agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO.xe2x80x9d
Russia invaded Georgia later that year, and in 2014 annexed Ukrainexe2x80x99s 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.
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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.
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