WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will consult with European leaders on Monday afternoon, as pressure builds between Russia and NATO over Ukraine.
NATO said earlier Monday it would move more military equipment and troops into countries on the alliance’s eastern front. Russia has built up at least 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine, threatening that conflict may be necessary to preserve its national security.
"We will always respond to any deterioration of our security environment, including through strengthening our collective defense," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.
Biden said last week that the U.S. would move more of its own troops and equipment into NATO's eastern countries, should Russia continue to threaten an invasion.
On Sunday, in an indication of the growing tension, the U.S. ordered the families of U.S. diplomats to leave Kyiv, an action several European diplomats called premature. The United Kingdom announced the same move on Monday, saying it was “in response to the growing threat from Russia.”
Denmark is sending a frigate and deploying F-16 warplanes to Lithuania; Spain will also send warships and could send fighter jets to Bulgaria; and France stands ready to send troops to Romania.
Diplomatic talks between the West and Russia have slowed as negotiations expanded into a broader debate over the security structure of post-Cold War Europe.
The White House said Biden will speak Monday afternoon via a video call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, NATO's Stoltenberg, Polish President Andrzej Duda and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The Kremlin lambasted NATO's decision to move, arguing that the West's mobilization was inciting "hysteria."
Meanwhile, Ireland, a non-NATO country, said Russia recently performed military exercises off its coast, a move that was not welcome.
The NATO announcement comes as European Union foreign ministers reconvene to show a united front supporting Ukraine in an effort to downplay concerns Europe would not respond cohesively to Russian aggression.
Learn more:What is happening at Ukraine's border? Putin's buildup of Russian troops sparks concern
Asked whether the EU would also evacuate the families of diplomats from Ukraine, EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell said: "We are not going to do the same thing." He added he is keen to hear from Secretary of State Antony Blinken about that decision.
Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesman, Oleg Nikolenko, said the U.S. decision was "a premature step" and a sign of "excessive caution." He said that Russia is sowing panic among Ukrainians and foreigners in order to destabilize Ukraine.
Germany is monitoring developments, but German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed that "we must not contribute to unsettling the situation further; we need to continue to support the Ukrainian government very clearly and above all maintain the stability of the country."
Gas prices play role in EU unity over Russia
But questions have been raised about just how unified the EU is. Diverse political, business and energy interests have long divided the 27-country bloc in its approach to Moscow. Around 40% of the EU's natural gas imports come from Russia, much of it via pipelines across Ukraine.
Gas prices have skyrocketed, and the head of the International Energy Agency has said that Russian energy giant Gazprom was already reducing its exports to the EU in late 2021 despite high prices. Putin says Gazprom is respecting its contract obligations, not putting the squeeze on Europe.
The EU's two major powers appear most cautious. Germany's Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia, which is complete but yet to pump gas, has become a bargaining chip. French President Emmanuel Macron has renewed previously rejected calls for an EU summit with Putin.
Late last year, France and Germany initially expressed doubts about U.S. intelligence assessments that Moscow might be preparing to invade.
Late on Saturday, the head of the German navy, Vice Admiral Kay-Achim Schoenbach, resigned after coming under fire for saying that Ukraine would not regain the Crimean Peninsula, and for suggesting that Putin deserves "respect."
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban plans to meet with Putin next week to discuss a Russian-backed project to expand a Hungarian nuclear power plant.
Still, diplomats and officials said hard-hitting sanctions are being drawn up with the EU's executive branch, the European Commission. But they were reluctant to say what the measures might be or what action by Russia might trigger them.
The aim, they said, is to try to match the doubts Putin has sowed about his intentions for Ukraine with uncertainty about what any retaliatory European action might look like, or when it would come.
Follow Matthew Brown online @mrbrownsir.
Contributing: Associated Press
