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18:55 GMT
WASHINGTON, April 30 (KUNA) -- President Barack Obama will return to Europe in June, Vice President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday during closing remarks at the Atlantic Council Conference.
Obama will go to Poland for the 25th anniversary of democratic elections there; to Brussels to consult with the G-7 on Ukraine and other issues; and to France, where he will celebrate the 70th anniversary of D-Day, Biden said.
"We have a lot of work cut out for us in the very near term, and it starts with focusing on the upcoming summit of NATO in Wales," Biden said, referring to the gathering scheduled for early September.
In response to Russian aggression, the United States is taking steps "to make clear that our allies will honor the solemn commitments under Article 5 of the NATO Treaty," he said. "There are no ifs, ands or buts about that; that is an absolute ironclad guarantee."
"We have been urgently stepping up our military presence in air and land of the Baltics and Poland and in the waters of the Black Sea, and we have asked our NATO allies to make similar contributions, and many have," Biden said. "And we hope by Wales, all NATO members will have increased their commitments to NATO, to NATO's reassurance efforts and to their own defense budgets." (end)
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