Biden admin weighs proposing cuts in U.S., Russian forces in ...

SectionstvFeaturedMore From NBCFollow NBC NewsThe Biden administration is heading into next week’s talks with Russia still unsure whether Moscow is serious about negotiations, but if so U.S. officials are ready to propose discussions on scaling back U.S. and Russian troop deployments and military exercises in Eastern Europe, a current administration official and two former U.S. national security officials familiar with the planning told NBC News.The discussions could potentially address the scope of military drills held by both powers, the number of U.S. troops stationed in the Baltic states and Poland, advance notice about the movement of forces, and Russia’s nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in the Russian territory of Kaliningrad between Poland and Lithuania, the sources said.With tens of thousands of Russian troops massed on Ukraine’s border, the Biden administration is threatening unprecedented sanctions and other tough steps if Russia takes military action against Ukraine. A source familiar with the Ukrainian government’s thinking said Kyiv was hopeful that the administration was poised to approve the additional assistance.Apart from the threat of sanctions, the administration is prepared to warn Moscow that if Russian forces seize more territory in Ukraine, the United States would lend support to Ukrainian resistance fighters and would back an expanded NATO military presence in Eastern Europe, former officials said.The White House and State Department declined to comment on the record about possible proposals for the talks with Russia.Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday suggested it was possible to find a way to agree on immediate steps with Russia that would reduce tensions, but did not elaborate. “We believe the United States should, in closest consultation with its NATO allies and with Ukraine, take immediate steps to affect the Kremlin’s cost-benefit calculations before the Russian leadership opts for further military escalation,” the letter said.Administration officials are preparing an array of unprecedented sanctions against Moscow if it takes military action in Ukraine, and have sought to secure support for similar measures from European allies.