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Barack Obama: â€œWe are working to boost the military capacity of non-NATO countries that sit on Russia's border, including Ukraine, Georgia and Moldovaâ€

04 June 2014 14:08 (UTC +04:00)

Standing with Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, Obama said the U.S. plans to send more military equipment and rotate additional U.S. troops into the region. He called on lawmakers in Washington to provide the $1 billion in funding to sustain the effort.

If approved, the funding for the European Reassurance Initiative will be used to increase military exercises and training missions on the continent, as well as rotations of air and ground forces, the White House said.

Officials said Obama was also seeking to ramp up U.S. Navy participation in NATO deployments in the Black and Baltic seas, plus working to boost the military capacity of non-NATO countries that sit on Russia's border, including Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.