奥巴马：美国计划扩大在欧洲的驻军

奥巴马：美国计划扩大在欧洲的驻军

US president Barack Obama says the United States is planning to boost its military presence in Europe, as tensions to simmer with Russia over Ukraine. He was speaking in the Polish capital Warsaw, at the start of a four day visit to Europe. Standing alongside Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, Obama said the US would rotate more American troops into the region and he called on the US Congress to provide up to a billion dollars to support the effort.

"Today I’m announcing a new initiative to bolster the security of our NATO allies here in Europe. Under this effort and with the support of Congress, the United States will preposition more equipment in Europe. We will be expanding our exercises and training with allies to increase the readiness of our forces." said Barack Obama, US President.

The announcement comes a day ahead of Obama’s first meeting with Ukraine’s newly elected president, Petro Poroshenko. Obama says he wants both the US and Ukraine to have good relations with Russia in future but he called on Moscow to avoid "further provocation" in Ukraine, and warned that it would be met with further consequences. 

Following a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Obama said Poland and the US both agree on the need to support Ukraine on security, territorial integrity and economic reforms. In particular, he highlighted the need of economic support from its western European neighbours for the ailing Ukrainian economy. 

Obama and Polish president Komorowski also met other central and Eastern European leaders on Tuesday at the Presidential Palace. The Polish presidential office says they discussed the Ukrainian crisis, ties with Russia and security in the region, as well as energy security.