Pentagon chief lauds US bid to store heavy weapons in Eastern Europe
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter has lauded Washington’s decision to station heavy weaponry in Eastern Europe, and vowed the United States will defend its allies against Russia.
"The concept is to have sets of equipment principally to support training so that they are already located there, including heavy equipment," Carter said in an address in Berlin, Germany, on Monday. "There is the possibility also of more equipment being positioned for contingencies."
The Pentagon chief said the move would be an “important” step to counter any Russian threat.
"If we're going to increase the resilience of the alliance and particularly of allies at the edges of alliance territory... this is an important thing to do," he stated.
The rhetoric and actions from Washington and Moscow have intensified in recent days amid the worst tensions since the Cold War, which both sides blame on each other. US officials and observers point to the Ukrainian conflict as the underlying issue for the increased tensions.
The US has already sent B-2 and B-52 nuclear-capable bombers, F-15Cs and A-10 attack planes as well as Army and Navy assets to Europe for a show of force, according to CNN.
NATO allies in Eastern Europe have stepped up their military moves, including exercises and the creation of a NATO rapid response force.
In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a plan for his country to add 40 intercontinental ballistic missiles to its nuclear arsenal this year.
“If someone threatens our territories, it means that we will have to aim our armed forces accordingly at the territories from where the threat is coming,” Putin said Tuesday. "It is NATO that is coming to our borders, it's not like we are moving anywhere."
Aboard his Pentagon jet on Sunday, Carter characterized the Russian leader’s plan to expand his country’s cache of nuclear missiles as “loose rhetoric” and vowed “we will defend our allies.”
However, he said Washington will “keep the door open” for Moscow to choose better relations with the West.
Later Monday, the US defense secretary will travel to Muenster, northwestern Germany, with his German, Dutch and Norwegian counterparts to visit the 1st German-Netherlands Corps, NATO's High Readiness Forces (Land) Headquarters.
HRJ/HRJ
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