Joe Biden fears that his plan to deploy as many as 8,500 troops to Eastern Europe might be blocked by NATO countries that do not want to enrage Vladimir Putin.
The U.S. president wants to deploy the US forces to countries neighboring Ukraine as part of a NATO force to deter further aggression by Putin.
But he is concerned that the move might be blocked by member countries that fear hosting the troops and enraging Putin, or by countries such as Germany that rely on Russia for 50 per cent of their gas.
A single NATO member can veto the plan.
The Pentagon said this week that the troops, if deployed, would do so under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Response Force (NRF).
The Washington Post notes that logistically to deploy U.S. troops, the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Lt. General Tod Wolters, would have to use NATO to request movement for any NRF deployment.
Countries that don't want U.S. troops based there could block Biden's future moves as some NATO nations – like France, Germany, Hungary and Turkey – want to develop closer ties with Moscow.
Reports emerged over the weekend that the president is considering sending up to 50,000 troops to the region should Russia invade.
France, Germany, Hungary and Turkey have been reluctant to make any moves they see as provocation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
'It's a slow bureaucratic process that outsources security interests to leaders in Germany, Hungary and Turkey, who would each have a veto,' a senior GOP congressional official told the Post.
'Putin understands the bureaucratic nature of how NATO works and I'm sure will be deftly skilled at exploiting that bureaucracy and the divisions inside NATO, they added.
French President Emanuel Macron said Tuesday that Russia is becoming a force of instability and claimed his foreign affairs staff are trying to engage Putin in deescalation efforts.
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