Washington. US President Joe Biden has ordered 2,000 US troops to be stationed in Poland and Germany, and 1,000 more troops are being transferred from Germany to Romania. The Pentagon gave this information on Thursday. By doing so, Biden is trying to show American loyalty to his allies on the eastern side of NATO amid fears of a Russian military attack on Ukraine.
Russia objected to the move, calling the deployment baseless and “disastrous”. Russian President Vladimir Putin also had a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. However, from the statements issued by the governments of both the countries, it appears that no consensus could be reached on the matter. Putin said the West was paying no attention to Russia’s security concerns, while Johnson expressed deep concern about Russia’s “hostile activity” along the Ukrainian border and referred to the 100,000 Russian troops stationed there.
The Biden administration is now trying to show US commitment without undermining efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis. The Biden administration, however, has not sent troops to the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on the eastern side of NATO. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said the immediate deployment of US forces is aimed at boosting the morale of the US and allies. “It is not a permanent action,” he said.
He said that Russia is continuously deploying troops along the Ukrainian border, even in the last 24, it has done so, while the US is continuously appealing to it not to let the situation worsen. Meanwhile, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the Interfax news agency, “Unfounded subversive measures will only increase military tensions and reduce the scope for political decisions.”