LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Britain is considering offering NATO a major troop deployment as part of a hardening of Europe’s borders in response to the presence of Russian troops near Ukraine, announced the British government on Saturday.
Like the United States, Great Britain warned Russia that it would impose sanctions on it in the event of an incursion into Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will travel to Eastern Europe next week for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Boris Johnson plans to double the number of troops deployed in Eastern Europe and send defensive arms to Estonia, his cabinet has said.
“These steps would send a clear message to the Kremlin – we will not tolerate their destabilizing activity, and we will always stand with our NATO allies in the face of Russian hostility,” Boris Johnson said in a statement.
“I have ordered our armed forces to prepare to deploy troops to Europe next week to support our NATO allies,” he added. (Report Alistair Smout; French version Camille Raynaud)