NATO sees no signs of de-escalation of the conflict around Ukraine. This was announced on Saturday, February 19, by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“So far, we do not see signs of a withdrawal of forces, de-escalation, on the contrary. I urge Russia to do what it has stated: move away from the borders with Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said during the Munich Security Conference.
According to the NATO Secretary General, the risk of a conflict developing is quite real. According to him, the alliance is still ready for dialogue with Russia in order to solve the problem through diplomatic efforts.
On February 17, readers of the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal criticized Stoltenberg’s statement about the lack of de-escalation around Ukraine after the return of Russian troops from the exercises. Commentators have expressed the view that the United States is engaged in propaganda about the allegedly impending Russian invasion of Ukraine in order to make internal problems less visible.
On February 15, Stoltenberg, during a conversation with reporters, also said that the alliance does not yet see signs of a de-escalation of tension around Ukraine. He added that it was premature to talk about these signs even after the Russian Federation announced the completion of the exercises. Commenting on this statement, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that NATO representatives cannot “soberly assess the situation.”
Western politicians and media representatives continue to spread numerous speculations about possible Russian aggression against Ukraine. Thus, on February 15, British tabloids The Sun and Daily Mirror reported that Russia’s “invasion” of Ukraine was scheduled for Wednesday night. On the morning of February 16, The Sun journalists noted that the night passed without incident and edited their article.
The Russian side has repeatedly refuted such statements, emphasizing that it has no plans to invade a neighboring country. On February 12, Lavrov, in an interview with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, said that the propaganda campaign launched by the United States and its allies about “Russian aggression” against Ukraine pursues provocative goals, thereby encouraging the authorities in Kiev to sabotage the Minsk agreements and harmful attempts to resolve the “Donbass problem” by force .
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