Tension continues to mount between Europe and its eastern neighbors. The United States has alerted the EU to movements of Russian soldiers near the eastern Ukrainian border. Russia has responded to the accusations of the Americans and believes it is not threatening any country. Europe does not say it is intimidated by its tensions at the gates of the continent. Point position.
Russia on Friday denied press reports suggesting it might be planning an invasion of Ukraine and accused the United States of aggressive maneuvers in the Black Sea area.
The United States has warned of a possible escalation of tensions
The United States recently informed its European allies in Brussels of Russian troop movements on the Ukrainian eastern border, we learned from two European diplomatic sources on Friday. The United States shared their concern about “an accentuation of the escalation of tensions” and underlined the need for a “continuous exchange of information” about the Russian troop movements, explained a first source without giving further. details.
Two European sources confirmed to Reuters on Friday that Washington had recently reported to its European allies about Russian troop movements on Ukraine’s eastern border and shared fears of escalating tensions in the region.
“Russia is not threatening anyone”
“Such headlines do nothing more than fuel tensions unnecessarily and without basis. Russia is not threatening anyone,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on a conference call on Friday.
He recalled that Russia was the sole decision maker in the deployment of its troops on its own territory.
While the United States has publicly expressed its concerns about “unusual Russian military activity” near the border with Ukraine, Dmitry Peskov brushed aside fears he said were unfounded. “We have repeatedly said that the movements of our troops within our borders should not cause concern,” he said.
Information “rather worrying” for Europe
In Brussels, a spokesperson for the European Commission said at a press briefing on Friday that Europeans continued to monitor developments, adding that the information gathered so far is “rather worrying”.
For his part, the Russian Defense Minister reported having detected six flights of NATO spy planes in the airspace above the Black Sea, in what he described as a intensification of aerial reconnaissance by Western forces.
Russia on its guard
The Russian military also said it was tracking the movements of US Navy ships in the Black Sea.
“We consider the aggressive military activity of the United States in the Black Sea region as a threat to regional security and strategic stability,” said the Russian military in a statement.
New sanctions against Belarus?
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and now claims ownership of the territorial waters bathing this peninsula still recognized as Ukrainian by most countries. Tensions in the region had already increased in recent days around the migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border, orchestrated by Minsk according to the Europeans, who are preparing new sanctions against the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.
The Kremlin’s support for the Belarusian president has not waned since his disputed re-election in August 2020 and the defense ministries of both countries announced the holding of parachute maneuvers in western Belarus near from the border with Poland.
Europeans not intimidated by threats from neighbors
The European Commission said on Friday it would not be intimidated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s threats to cut off the delivery of Russian gas, which passes through Belarus, to Europe.
She added that such measures would harm suppliers and Belarus. Alexander Loukachenko did not consult Moscow before discussing the option of “cutting gas” to Europeans, according to the Kremlin spokesman.
“These are the words of the President of Belarus,” Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a press conference, referring to the fact that Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday threatened the European Union with retaliatory measures if he were to impose new sanctions against his country, at the heart of a migratory crisis.
“I would like to remind you of President Putin’s statement that Russia has always fulfilled its contractual obligations,” added the Russian government spokesperson. “Belarus is our ally, but it is a sovereign state.”
Dmitry Peskov assured that Russia stood as the guarantor of the continent’s energy security. “Russia’s reliability as a supplier and partner in current and future contracts cannot be questioned,” he said.
The United States “very concerned” by the tensions
The United States is “very concerned” by the situation on the border between Poland and Belarus, which is engaged in “very worrying activities”, said Friday the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.
“We are very concerned and are following this very carefully,” she said at a press conference in Paris after an interview with Emmanuel Macron, as part of his official visit to France which began on Tuesday. “The regime (of Belarusian President Alexander, Editor’s note.) Lukashenko is engaged in very worrying activities, it is a subject that I discussed with Emmanuel Macron, and the international community has its eyes on what is happening there- low.”
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