Status: 01.12.2021 17:37
After Ukraine’s warnings of a Russian attack, NATO is hitting increasingly sharper tones in the direction of Moscow. US Secretary of State Blinken accused Russia of planning “aggressive steps”. There is evidence of this.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused Russia of planning “substantial aggressive steps against Ukraine”. There is “evidence” of these plans, Blinken said at the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Riga, Latvia.
Blinken threatened Moscow with severe US economic sanctions in the event of an attack. Russian plans ranged from “efforts to destabilize Ukraine from within to large-scale military operations”. “We made it clear to the Kremlin that we would react decisively,” said Blinken. This also includes “a number of effective economic measures that we have so far refrained from in the past”.
Russia warns of US nuclear weapons transfer
Blinken will hold talks with his Russian colleague Sergei Lavrov on Thursday on the sidelines of the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) meeting in Stockholm.
The Russian Foreign Minister accuses the West of wanting to “dictate to Moscow how the Russian armed forces should behave on their own territory”. He accused NATO of “destructive policies”.
Lavrov also warned NATO against transferring US nuclear weapons to Eastern Europe. Lavrov assumed the possibility that the new traffic light coalition in Berlin could refuse to keep the weapons stationed in Germany. A possible relocation of nuclear weapons eastwards would be irresponsible and provocative, he said.
Lavrov: “An attempt to provoke a heated conflict”
Lavrov was responding to an earlier statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who had brought about a relocation of arms eastwards in the event that Germany could change its policy on the matter. Lavrov described Stoltenberg’s admission as “absolutely irresponsible” and “outrageous”. “This is not just a fomenting of the confrontation. It is an attempt to provoke a heated conflict,” said the foreign minister in the upper house of the Russian parliament.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview on Tuesday that his country would be ready to deploy Russian nuclear weapons in the event of an eastward relocation of US nuclear weapons. Lavrov described Lukashenko’s move as a “serious warning” provoked by “ruthless Western politics”.
Serious allegations and threats from the Kremlin
In a speech to foreign diplomats in the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin again made serious accusations against NATO. He accused the alliance of “trying in every possible way to hinder its own development, to exert sanction pressure and, moreover, to escalate the tension on Russia’s borders.”
The threat to Russia’s western border is really growing, Putin said. But do not start from Moscow. It suffices to consider how close NATO’s military infrastructure has moved to the Russian borders. “This is more than serious for us. In this situation we are taking appropriate military-technical measures,” said Putin.
West fears a repeat of 2014
The Russian Foreign Ministry published a graphic recently on Russia’s relationship with NATO. There were five “myths” and “facts” on it. In the first place: the “myth” that Russia is not interested in a dialogue with NATO. On the other hand, there is the “fact” that the blame for a devaluation of the dialogue lies solely with the Alliance.
Relations between Russia and NATO have recently sunk to a low point since the end of the Cold War. According to the Ukrainian government, Russia has deployed troops, tanks and other heavy equipment on the border with Ukraine for the second time this year. The West fears that the situation of 2014 could repeat itself. At that time, Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which belongs to Ukraine. Moscow denies any warlike intent.
With information from Martha Wilczynski, ARD Studio Moscow
Russia and NATO: Putin calls for security guarantees
Martha Wilczynski, ARD Moscow, December 1, 2021 5:11 pm