Monday, December 27, 2021
No relaxation in sight
Moscow warns NATO of armed conflict
Russia has been increasing its troops on the Ukrainian border for months. One military exercise follows another. And the Kremlin continues to tighten its threats. Now the Russian Defense Ministry is gathering Western diplomats to warn them of an “armed confrontation”.
In the face of tensions between Russia and NATO, the Ministry of Defense in Moscow has warned Western military attachés of the risk of armed conflict. “Recently the alliance has switched to a practice of direct provocation, which poses a high risk of escalating into an armed confrontation,” Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin told diplomats in Moscow.
The ministry broadcast a video showing Fomin informing foreign diplomats of Russia’s criticism of NATO. Accordingly, among the 105 attendees were representatives from 14 NATO countries. Fomin accused the alliance of a massive increase in military activities. In 2020 alone, the number of military flights on Russia’s borders rose from 436 to 710. Every year NATO also holds 30 major maneuvers with battle scenarios against Russia.
Putin warns of Ukraine joining NATO
Fomin recalled Russia’s demands on NATO for security guarantees and an end to eastward expansion. He again warned of Ukraine’s possible membership of NATO. President Vladimir Putin recently threatened consequences if NATO should penetrate closer to Russia.
The Kremlin and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow expect that there will be a dialogue with NATO after the Russian New Year break, which ends on January 9th. The NATO-Russia Council could meet for this purpose. A date has not been set. Fomin said Russia would be ready to talk on an equal footing at any time. At the same time, he criticized the fact that NATO had for years rejected every offer of talks by Moscow and preferred the route of confrontation.
Russia criticizes the fact that since the collapse of the Soviet Union 30 years ago, NATO has been moving military bases and weapon systems ever closer to Russia. In Eastern Europe alone, 13,000 soldiers from NATO countries, including 200 tanks and 30 planes and helicopters, are now permanently stationed. NATO sees this as a deterrent against aggressive Russian policies, including against Ukraine. In addition, the military alliance is currently criticizing a Russian troop build-up near the Ukrainian border.
NATO-Russia Council to be revived
Meanwhile, NATO is stepping up its efforts to revitalize the NATO-Russia Council. The Alliance’s General Secretary, Jens Stoltenberg, has now proposed January 12 as the date for a Council meeting, which has been on hold since 2019, according to a NATO spokesman in Brussels on Sunday evening. A two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers will also begin in Brussels on January 12th. In the past few months, the NATO Secretary General had tried unsuccessfully to revive the dialogue forum with Russia, which was founded in 2002.
In Berlin on Monday a spokeswoman for the German Foreign Office said that the German government hoped that Russia would “also accept” Stoltenberg’s latest offer for talks. Government circles in Berlin had previously said that a “detailed meeting” between Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s foreign policy advisor, Jens Plötner, and Russian Ukraine representative Dmitri Kosak was planned for the beginning of the year. US President Joe Biden has already negotiated personally with Putin – but so far without any results.