Top U.S. General Sent Back to Europe over Ukraine Crisis
The United States has sent its top general in Europe back to the continent early, amid what the Pentagon on Sunday called Russia's "lack of transparency" over the Ukraine crisis.
General Philip Breedlove, NATO's supreme allied commander Europe and the U.S. military's European Command chief, returned to Europe on Saturday from a visit in Washington, where he had been due to testify before Congress.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel decided the four-star general's early return was "the prudent thing to do, given the lack of transparency and intent from Russian leadership about their military movements across the border," said Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby.
Pointing to "growing uncertainty in Ukraine," Kirby said Hagel wanted Breedlove to pursue consultations with NATO allies, especially in the former Soviet Union's sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.
The announcement came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in hopes of easing global tensions over the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea and buildup of troops near Ukraine.
At the heart of the U.S. initiative is a commitment by Russia to halt its military buildup near its ex-Soviet neighbor --- estimated by U.S. and EU diplomats to have reached between 30,000 and 40,000 soldiers in recent days -- and to order its Crimean forces back to their bases.
Breedlove is due to meet with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday.
He had been scheduled to give his annual testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday and the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday.
"While it does not foreshadow imminent military action in Ukraine, the general's return will allow him more time to confer closely with his staff and our allies and partners, and to better advise senior leaders," Kirby said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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