America's top
general in Europe has been sent back early from a trip to Washington in
what the Pentagon on Sunday called a prudent step given Russia's "lack
of transparency" about troop movements across the border with Ukraine.
General Philip Breedlove, who is both NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the head of the U.S. military's European Command, arrived in Europe Saturday evening. He had been due to testify before Congress this week.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel considered Breedlove's early return "the prudent thing to do, given the lack of transparency and intent from Russian leadership about their military movements across the border," a Pentagon spokesman said. Washington says there are 40,000 Russian troops on Ukraine's borders.
The pentagon announcement came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minist
er Sergei Lavrov met in Paris seeking to hammer out the framework of a deal to reduce tensions over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.
They aim to develop a proposal conceived by Kerry and Lavrov at earlier sessions, with Western leaders considering broader sanctions against Russia that would target vital sectors of its economy including its mainstay oil and gas industry.
Ideas on the table included a deployment of international monitors in Ukraine, the withdrawal of Russian forces from Crimea and the border zone around Ukraine, and the launch of direct talks between Moscow and the government in Kiev.
"Today, we expect Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov to continue the discussion they've been having in the interest of finding concrete ways to de-escalate the conflict," a senior U.S. State Department official said.
Kerry and Lavrov hoped to build on a phone call on Friday between presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama, according to senior U.S. officials, to defuse the worst East-West confrontation since the Cold War ended two decades ago.
Read more: U.S. sends top general back to Europe over Ukraine crisis | Reuters
General Philip Breedlove, who is both NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the head of the U.S. military's European Command, arrived in Europe Saturday evening. He had been due to testify before Congress this week.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel considered Breedlove's early return "the prudent thing to do, given the lack of transparency and intent from Russian leadership about their military movements across the border," a Pentagon spokesman said. Washington says there are 40,000 Russian troops on Ukraine's borders.
The pentagon announcement came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minist
er Sergei Lavrov met in Paris seeking to hammer out the framework of a deal to reduce tensions over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.
They aim to develop a proposal conceived by Kerry and Lavrov at earlier sessions, with Western leaders considering broader sanctions against Russia that would target vital sectors of its economy including its mainstay oil and gas industry.
Ideas on the table included a deployment of international monitors in Ukraine, the withdrawal of Russian forces from Crimea and the border zone around Ukraine, and the launch of direct talks between Moscow and the government in Kiev.
"Today, we expect Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov to continue the discussion they've been having in the interest of finding concrete ways to de-escalate the conflict," a senior U.S. State Department official said.
Kerry and Lavrov hoped to build on a phone call on Friday between presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama, according to senior U.S. officials, to defuse the worst East-West confrontation since the Cold War ended two decades ago.
Read more: U.S. sends top general back to Europe over Ukraine crisis | Reuters
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