President Joe Biden will make specific announcements during this week’s NATO summit in Madrid, raising the stance of the US force as it seeks to counter a “more acute and aggravated Russian threat,” according to the national security adviser. Jake Sullivan.
The announcements include the incorporation of two American destroyers based at the Rota Naval Station in Spain, bringing the total number of American destroyers based there to six. Biden was scheduled to discuss the decision with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during a meeting Tuesday.
“This will help increase the U.S. and NATO maritime presence,” Sullivan said aboard Air Force One while Biden flew to Madrid.
He said the new destroyers would be the first of several specific announcements about the stance of U.S. forces during the NATO summit. “The United States will make specific announcements tomorrow on land, sea and air about additional long-term strength stance commitments beyond the duration of this crisis, no matter how long it lasts.”
“At the end of the summit, what you will see is a more robust, more effective, more credible stance in combat, more capable and more determined to take into account a more acute and aggravated Russian threat,” he added.
He said the entire NATO alliance also planned to agree on specific goals to increase NATO funding with its national budgets.
This comes after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Monday that the US-led military alliance will improve its battlegroups in the eastern part of the alliance to brigade levels, saying it would be the “greatest revision of our collective deterrence and defense since the Cold War.”
“We will increase the number of high-preparedness forces to more than 300,000,” he said, adding that it will include “more prepositioned equipment and storage of military supplies; more capabilities deployed forward, such as air defense; command and control.” and improved defense plans, with pre-assigned forces to defend specific allies. “
According to the NATO website, the NATO Response Force is made up of about 40,000 soldiers.
“These troops will exercise alongside the local defense forces. And they will become familiar with the local terrain, facilities and our new prepositioned stocks so that they can respond smoothly and quickly to any emergency,” Stoltenberg added.
With previous reports from Sharon Braithwaite of CNN in London