The Russian diplomacy judges “unjustified” and “destructive” the US decision to send 3,000 additional soldiers to Eastern Europe.
Le Monde with AFP
Russia urged, Thursday, February 3, the United States to “stop feeding tensions” in the Russian-Western crisis around Ukraine. This request is formulated in the aftermath of the US decision to send 3,000 additional soldiers to Eastern Europe.
“The anxiety of Russia is clear and perfectly justified”, since it is “Americans sending in European countries,” said Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov. The day before, the Russian diplomacy had tried “unjustified” and “destructive” the announcement of the sending of these reinforcements, which “reduce the field for political decisions”.
These reinforcements, which add to the 8,500 soldiers placed in alert last month for a possible deployment on the European soil, will be sent to Poland, Germany and Romania, said the Department of American Defense. The objective is to “reassure [the] NATO allies” (Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty) and to “send a strong signal” to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, justified the spokesman for the Pentagon , John Kirby.
Russians and Westerners are engaged in multiple formats of diplomatic discussions. Each camp displays the goal of de-escalation, but also a desire to give nothing on its positions of principle.
“Indivisibility of security”
Moscow has deployed tens of thousands of men for months at the borders of Ukraine, which for the West is a sign of a major military operation. Russia denies. The Kremlin says that NATO threatens the safety of Russia and claims, to lower the tensions, the end of the enlargement policy of the Alliance and its withdrawal from Eastern Europe. Whaturopeans and Americans refuse.
Washington proposes that the rivals undertake not to deploy offensive military means in Ukraine, that Moscow inspects some military infrastructures that worry it in Europe, and that the two countries agree on arms control measures .
The United States is also ready to discuss the “indivisibility of security”. The Kremlin is based on this concept to claim a decline in the NATO of its neighborhood, arguing that the security of one can not be at the expense of that of others, in spite of the law of each State, and therefore of the Ukraine, to choose your alliances.
Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, are considering, for their part, to come to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin has confirmed discussions in this direction.