(ANSA) - Rome, March 30 - The Pentagon has drawn up plans to position American troops, tanks and other armored vehicles full time along NATO's eastern borders to deter Russian aggression, in what would be the first such deployment since the end of the Cold War, the Wall Street Journal said Wednesday.
The Pentagon intends the plans as an escalation of a proposal it announced last year, when it said it was looking at ways to increase U.S. military deterrence in Eastern Europe, such as repositioning older materiel in the region.
Some countries on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's eastern flank have expressed concern about the depth of the U.S.
commitment to their defense - especially in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin's intervention in Ukraine, the WSJ noted.
Separately Wednesday Russia said it had decided not to take part in a summit on nuclear security in Washington Thursday and Friday because of a "lack of interaction" in picking the topics to be discussed. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitri Peskov said "Moscow believes that the elaboration of issues linked to nuclear security requires common and joint efforts and the mutual consideration of interests and positions."
Pentagon to deploy on NATO border - WSJ
Risk of escalation between U.S. and Russia