Today Vice President Joe Biden
said that the U.S. is considering carrying out military exercises
in the Baltics after a meeting with Estonian President Toomas
Hendrik Ilves in Warsaw.
From
Reuters:
(Reuters) – The United States will work on greater
diversification of energy sources in the Baltics and may consider
rotating units of its ground and naval forces through the region
for training exercises, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on
Tuesday.
Biden is in Europe
to meet with Baltic leaders in the wake of the recent
referendum in Crimea in which officials say over
97 percent of voters backed joining Russia. Today Putin signed
a treaty with Crimean officials making the Black Sea peninsula part
of Russia. The U.S., the European Union, and the government in Kiev
consider the recent referendum illegal.
Earlier
this month the Pentagon announced that it would more than
double the fighter jets it is contributing to a NATO patrolling
force in the Baltics. A Pentagon official said at the time that the
move “comes at the request of our Baltic allies and further
demonstrates our commitment to Nato security.”
The situation in Crimea is developing quickly. Today it was
reported that a Ukrainian officer
was killed during an attack on a base outside the Crimean city
of Simferopol. According to
CNN, Ukrainian troops in Crimea have been authorized to use
their weapons.
More from Reason on Ukraine here.
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