US to boost military presence in Europe for Russia threat

MADRID (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. will significantly increase its military presence in Europe for the long haul, including by establishing its first permanent presence in Poland, to bolster regional security after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the opening of the alliance’s annual leaders’ summit in Madrid, Biden said “NATO is strong and united” and that steps to be taken during the gathering will “further augment our collective strength.”

Biden opened his participation in the summit by announcing the permanent basing of a U.S. military garrison in Poland. He also said the U.S. is sending two additional F-35 fighter jet squadrons to the UK and will send more air defense and other capabilities to Germany and Italy.

“Today I’m announcing the United States will enhance our force posture in Europe and respond to the changing security environment as well as strengthening our collective security,” he said.

Stoltenberg, who earlier Wednesday said the alliance was facing its biggest challenge since World War II because of Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine, welcomed Biden’s announcement.

“This really demonstrates your decisive leadership and strength in the trans-Atlantic bond,” Stoltenberg said, thanking Biden for the “unwavering support from you and from the United States to Ukraine.”

Biden said the U.S. will permanently station the U.S. Army V Corps forward command in Poland, a move that he said would strengthen US-NATO interoperability across the alliance’s eastern flank. The move marks the first permanent basing of U.S. forces on NATO’s eastern edge. Biden added that the U.S. is also stepping up its rotational deployments of troops to Romania and the Baltic region.

Celeste Wallander, an assistant U.S. secretary of defense for international affairs, told reporters that having a permanent presence in Poland will be key to helping NATO navigate the changed security environment in Europe caused by Russia’s invasion. The U.S. supplies the bulk of NATO’s military power.

U.S. officials emphasized that the permanent basing applied only to headquarters units, not combat troops, and was therefore consistent with a 1997 agreement between NATO and Russia in which the alliance agreed not to permanently base combat troops in Eastern Europe as it aimed to build more constructive ties in the post-Cold War environment.

Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told Poland’s state PAP news agency that the decision to add U.S. command structure was a “manifestation of the ever closer cooperation between the U.S. and Poland” and would give give NATO allies a frontline insight into the Russian threat.

The combat units Biden is sending to Romania and the Baltic region are on rotational deployments, rather than permanent assignment, to remain in compliance with that agreement.

“There has been no communication with Moscow about these changes, nor is there a requirement to do that,” John Kirby, a spokesman for Biden’s National Security Council.

Biden announced on Tuesday after arriving for the summit that the U.S. would base two additional destroyers at its naval base in Rota, Spain, bringing the total number to six.

The U.S. currently has more than 100,000 servicemembers deployed across Europe, up by about 20,000 since just before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began four months ago.

Biden predicted that meetings this week would make for a “history-making summit” as leaders were set to approve a new strategic framework, announce a range of steps to boost their defense spending and capabilities, and clear the way for historically neutral Finland and Sweden to join NATO.

Biden said Putin thought NATO members would splinter after he invaded Ukraine, but got the opposite response instead.

“Putin was looking for the Finland-ization of Europe,” Biden said. “You’re gonna get the NATO-ization of Europe. And that’s exactly what he didn’t want, but exactly what needs to be done to guarantee security for Europe.”

Turkey, the last remaining holdout to approve the Nordic countries’ accession into NATO, reached an agreement on the eve of the summit late Tuesday to support adding them to the 30-nation alliance.

While the White House said the U.S. was not a direct party to the negotiations, a senior administration official said Biden spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday to encourage him to clear the way for Sweden and Finland to join. The two leaders are set to meet Wednesday afternoon to discuss other issues, the White House said.

Biden will also sit down Wednesday with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who are attending the NATO summit as the alliance looks to strengthen its ties in the Indo-Pacific region and address challenges from China.

The White House said the three leaders would also discuss North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

马德里（美联社）——美国总统乔·拜登周三表示，在俄罗斯入侵乌克兰后，美国将大幅增加其在欧洲的长期军事存在，包括在波兰建立其第一个永久驻军，以加强地区安全。

在马德里举行的北约年度领导人峰会开幕式上，拜登与北约秘书长延斯·斯托尔滕贝格会面，他表示“北约强大而团结”，并称此次峰会期间将采取的措施将“进一步增强我们的集体力量”。

拜登在峰会开幕式上宣布，美国将在波兰设立永久军事基地。他还表示，美国将向英国增派两个F-35战斗机中队，并将向德国和意大利增派防空和其他军事力量。

“今天我宣布，美国将加强我们在欧洲的兵力部署，以应对不断变化的安全环境，并加强我们的集体安全，”他说。

斯托尔滕贝格周三早些时候表示，由于俄罗斯对乌克兰的侵略，联盟正面临二战以来最大的挑战，他对拜​​登的声明表示欢迎。

斯托尔滕贝格说：“这真正展现了您在跨大西洋关系中的果断领导力和实力”，并感谢拜登“您和美国对乌克兰的坚定支持”。

拜登表示，美国将把陆军第五军前沿指挥部永久驻扎在波兰，此举将加强美国与北约在联盟东翼的协同作战能力。这是美军首次在北约东翼建立永久基地。拜登还补充说，美国正在加大向罗马尼亚和波罗的海地区轮换部署部队的力度。

美国负责国际事务的助理国防部长塞莱斯特·瓦兰德告诉记者，在波兰保持永久驻军对于帮助北约应对俄罗斯入侵造成的欧洲安全环境变化至关重要。美国是北约军事力量的主要提供者。

美国官员强调，永久驻扎仅适用于总部单位，不适用于作战部队，因此符合 1997 年北约与俄罗斯达成的协议，该协议规定北约同意不在东欧永久驻扎作战部队，以期在后冷战环境下建立更具建设性的关系。

波兰副外长帕维尔·雅布隆斯基告诉波兰国家通讯社PAP，增设美国指挥机构的决定是“美波两国日益紧密合作的体现”，并将使北约盟国对俄罗斯的威胁有前线了解。

拜登派往罗马尼亚和波罗的海地区的作战部队是轮换部署，而不是永久驻扎，以遵守该协议。

拜登国家安全委员会发言人约翰·柯比表示：“我们没有就这些变化与莫斯科进行任何沟通，也没有义务这样做。”

拜登周二抵达峰会后宣布，美国将在西班牙罗塔海军基地增派两艘驱逐舰，使驱逐舰总数达到六艘。

目前，美国在欧洲部署了超过 10 万名军人，比四个月前俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京入侵乌克兰之前增加了约 2 万人。

拜登预测，本周的会议将成为“具有历史意义的峰会”，各国领导人将批准一项新的战略框架，宣布一系列提高国防开支和能力的措施，并为历史上保持中立的芬兰和瑞典加入北约扫清障碍。

拜登说，普京以为入侵乌克兰后北约成员国会分裂，但结果却恰恰相反。

拜登说：“普京想要的是欧洲芬兰化，而你们将会看到欧洲北约化。这恰恰是他最不希望看到的，但为了保障欧洲安全，这却是必须做的。”

土耳其是最后一个尚未批准北欧国家加入北约的国家，在峰会召开前夕的周二晚些时候达成协议，支持将北欧国家纳入这个拥有 30 个成员国的联盟。

白宫方面表示，美国并非谈判的直接参与方，但一位高级政府官员透露，拜登周二与土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安通了电话，鼓励他为瑞典和芬兰加入谈判扫清障碍。白宫称，两位领导人将于周三下午会晤，讨论其他议题。

拜登将于周三与韩国总统尹锡烈和日本首相岸田文雄会面，他们正在出席北约峰会，北约希望加强其在印太地区的联系，并应对来自中国的挑战。

白宫表示，三位领导人还将讨论朝鲜的核武器和弹道导弹计划。