The NATO leadership supports the buildup of the US military presence in Europe, believes that this motivates the European allies to make more efforts in the military sphere themselves, Alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.
In January 2017, the US officially renamed the program of military assistance to European allies in the “European Deterrence Initiative.” The program envisages the deployment of three to five thousand NATO troops with equipment to the European countries which border with Russia. The Russian side has previously stated that US military actions in the territory of European countries worsen the security situation in Europe and create risks in this area.
“We welcome plans to further build up of the American military presence in Europe, both in the form of personnel, exercises, and equipment … This is an inducement for Europeans to do more,” the NATO Secretary General said on Wednesday.
At the same time, Stoltenberg noted that the increase of the US presence goes hand in hand with the Europeans building up their own efforts in the military sphere.