The allies call on Moscow to lower the tension but warn it of “serious consequences” if it uses force in the region
Tension is skyrocketing in the Ukraine hot zone with a cross-talk between NATO and the Kremlin that is becoming worrying. Russia has once again increased its troops on the border with this former Soviet republic (the second military concentration so far this year). A deployment that, together with the escalation of warmongering rhetoric, has led to threats of response from the Alliance partners. Its general secretary, Jens Stoltenberg, dropped a possible movement of troops to the area in support of Kiev, while warning of the cost to Russia of any “act of aggressiveness; political and economic consequences, “he added.
The message of support for this partner, who is not an ally – several countries, the United States among them, are reluctant to enter Ukraine into NATO for fear of a direct clash with Russia – was launched at the beginning of the two-day meeting they hold. NATO Foreign Ministers in Riga (Latvia). On the agenda, three fundamental issues: Belarus and the migration crisis that it has caused in Poland and the Baltic republics; the “lessons learned” from the hasty departure from Afghanistan. And, of course, Ukraine. “The situation increases the tension and increases the probability of miscalculations. Russia must be transparent and lower that tension ”, asked Stoltenberg.
The Norwegian went even further by ensuring that the coalition has strengthened its coverage of Ukraine with troops since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula, and has remained there on the defensive during destabilizing maneuvers in the breakaway Donbass region. Greater presence presence in the region, both around the Black Sea and in the Baltic, by air, land and sea. “It was a direct reaction to the Russian military incursion into Ukraine. We have tripled the size of the NATO Response Force in recent years with around 40,000 troops. This force could be increased rapidly if necessary.
“Deterrent dialogue”
The purpose of deterrence is not to provoke a conflict, but to prevent it, ”added Stoltenberg. NATO defends itself, does not attack, he came to emphasize while, simultaneously, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, reinforced the burden of warnings to Moscow. “Any new aggression (by Russia) would cause serious consequences,” said Blinken, who stressed that Vladimir Putin’s tactic is already known: “create and manufacture a supposed provocation to justify something that Russia already planned to do from the beginning.”
The thrust of the “deterrent dialogue” is, in any case, the starting position of the NATO allies. And, apparently, also the first sentence of the Moscow reply. Putin hoped this Tuesday that common sense prevails on both fronts. But he did it with an indigestible pill; with cross threat. He spoke of “red lines” for a deployment of strategic bombers by the United States “just 20 kilometers from the Russian border.”
In statements collected by Reuters, the Russian leader understood that “if some type of attack system appears on Ukrainian territory, the flight time to Moscow is 7 to 10 minutes, and five minutes if hypersonic weapons are deployed.” A threat “to us that I hope will not happen.” But for which he would have an answer. In fact, he announced “the success” of a new missile tested by the Army, which would travel at a speed nine times the speed of sound.
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