WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is considering pulling out of an upcoming military exercise with the Russians and suspending all military-to-military contacts and consultations in response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea.
A senior defense official told NBC News the military exercise scheduled for May would have also included Norway.
“No final decisions have been made,” the official said. But added, “it’s difficult to see how we [the U.S.] could take part” in the joint exercise after this past weekend’s invasion.
The U.S. and Russia have a variety of military-to-military contacts on a range of issues at various levels which now could be suspended.
The official emphasized there are still no plans for the U.S. forces to take any military action in response to the Russia/Ukraine crisis and that no U.S. military assets or forces have been put on standby or prepositioned for any possible operations.