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US commander Basham appealed to NATO allies. Among other things, he demands to “show presence”.
Washington, DC – The US Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), based in Washington, DC, hosted an event on Friday entitled “Transatlantic Security after 75 Years of NATO”. In a speech that was also broadcast in online live streams, Lt. Gen. Steven L. Basham, deputy commander of US Air Forces in Europe, made an appeal to the NATO-Allies of the USA.
An autocratic regime like Russia could easily prioritize expanding its defense industry over its economic well-being in order to sustain military action in Ukraine, he said. Vladimir Putin can continue to count on support from Iran and North Korea, said Basham, among other things US Department of Defense reported on his homepage.
In his speech, Basham also pointed to NATO’s responsibility in supporting Ukrainian forces in the war against Russia. “Don’t make a mistake. No matter how things turn out in Ukraine, Russia will not stop with Ukraine if it is not stopped in Ukraine,” Basham emphasized.
US general warns: Russia is increasingly making up for material shortages with Chinese help
The deputy commander of the US Air Forces in Europe pointed out that the industrial base of the Western defense industry is currently on the rise: “It will continue to be faster than Russia’s capacities allow,” he explained.
The time that Russia is in Ukraine is also the time that the NATO allies have to bring their “industrial base to the level it needs,” emphasized Basham.
The US lieutenant general also highlighted that Russia appears to have become increasingly reliant on importing equipment and technology to sustain its war of aggression against Ukraine. Support from China is particularly important for Vladimir Putin. “Russia is making up for the problems it has with its own equipment by expanding its relations with China,” Basham emphasized.
Concerns about new Russian aggression have recently grown in Europe
Basham’s speech at the FDD event on transatlantic security after 75 years of NATO comes at a time when tensions in Europe and the rest of the world have recently continued to grow in view of existing and possible further aggression by Russia. Recently, former NATO commander-in-chief James Stavridis said in an article published by the US intelligence service Bloomberg appeared to express his concerns that the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad in the Baltics could soon play an internationally important role.
Stavridis believes that if, as a result of a successful outcome to his war of aggression in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin should come up with the idea of attacking other states close to Russia, this is exactly where NATO would have to intervene. “NATO will use the Baltic Sea to put pressure on Kaliningrad, which acts as a geographical dividing line between the Baltic NATO countries – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – and the rest of the alliance,” Stavridis wrote in the relevant article for Bloomberg.
Basham calls for US troops to “show presence” in Europe
The defense of the United States also begins far outside its borders, Basham added. “All Ukraine asks for is our continued, unwavering, consistent and continuous support,” he stressed.
In his speech, Basham also called for the current course of supporting Ukrainian armed forces to defend themselves in the Russian war of aggression to be maintained in the future. But, he emphasized, this must be explained to the American people “much better” than has been the case so far.
The USA, its allies and partners will oppose Russian aggression “increasingly”, said Basham, and in this context also referred to the recent accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. Basham also noted the importance of “showing a presence,” including the stationing of U.S. troops in Europe. (fh)
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