OMSK. Jan 15 (Interfax-AVN) - The U.S. administration officially informed the Russian Defense Ministry that a final decision about the relocation of numerous U.S. military bases abroad had not yet been made, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said at a news conference in Omsk on Thursday.
"We were told that relocation options were under consideration. As far as we know, they are considering the relocation of bases from Germany to Poland and some other European nations. For instance, Romania is frequently mentioned," Ivanov said.
"The American military command and the Department of State say there are different sorts of bases. For instance, there are bases in Germany whose entire personnel are servicemen, there are storage bases, and there are mobilization units, which are fully staffed only in wartime. We have been told that the issue is under consideration, and Moscow will be informed as soon as a decision is made," Ivanov said.
"As for Europe, I have said more than once that we have to be concerned about any type of military infrastructure coming closer to our borders," the minister said.
"I think this is obvious to everyone. This is not a situation to ignore or to play the fool. We are maintaining permanent diplomatic and military contacts, but our representatives assure us that a final decision has not been made," Ivanov said.