US President Joe Biden has announced that his country will strengthen its military presence in Europe so that the coalition can “respond to threats from all directions and in all areas: land, air and sea.”
This was stated during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Madrid, which seeks to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank in response to Russia’s operation in Ukraine.
He stressed that the US military presence in Spain, Poland, Romania, the Baltic states, Britain, Germany and Italy will be strengthened.
“We are trying to resize our forces in Europe in light of the current challenges,” Biden said.
In this regard, the US President said that NATO intends to strengthen its deployment in Europe in response to current challenges.
For his part, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO would agree to a deterrent to deploy more combat groups by next year and deploy more pre-existing equipment in Eastern Europe.
In previous remarks, Stoltenberg noted that NATO was conducting “the most comprehensive review of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War.”
After arriving in Madrid, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said NATO should “learn from the past few months and reconsider its position on its eastern flank”.
For his part, Polish President Andriy Duda said that NATO’s commitment to increasing the rapid reaction force of members close to Russia “will make Europe safer.”
He added: “Russia is a threat to Europe and not only to Europe, but to all NATO members.”
The leaders of Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand are attending the summit for the first time as guests, reflecting the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific region.
Source: Lebanon Debate
