Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg on December 17 called on NATO to be ready for any development of events in eastern Ukraine.
“What we see now – This is a significant, consistent and ongoing strengthening of the Russian military presence. There is no clarity about the purpose of this build-up. Of course, we should and hope for the best, but we need to be prepared for the worst, ”he said at a joint press conference in Brussels with the Bulgarian Prime Minister, broadcast on the page of the official representative of the alliance Oana Lungescu in Twitter.
According to Stoltenberg, the alliance “is watching very closely what Russia is doing.”
The secretary general added that the alliance must be ready to protect its allies.
“We do not see any direct threat to any of the members of the alliance, but we see an increase in tension, and this primarily concerns our members in the region, in particular Bulgaria,” he said.
Earlier on Friday, the leaders of the EU member states unanimously decided to extend economic sanctions against Russia. The head of the EU Council Charles Michel said that the Kremlin will face serious consequences if Russia “takes further military action against Ukraine.”
Earlier, on December 13, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that there was no Russian invasion of Ukraine and could not be. He stressed that what Russia is carrying out on its territory, the West does not concern.
On the same day, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that the statements of the G7 countries (G7) about possible sanctions against Russia because of the allegedly impending invasion of Ukraine are the next threats. Peskov noted that when it comes to the need for de-escalation in Ukraine, Russia wants to see calls to Kiev to end provocative actions on the demarcation line in Donbass, but there are no such appeals.
On December 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the question of an “attack” on Ukraine provocative. He stressed that Russia is pursuing a peaceful foreign policy, but it has the right to defend its security.
Articles about the allegedly possible Russian invasion have repeatedly appeared in the Western media. So, on November 19, The New York Times reported that the US administration had warned the allies about the alleged plans of the Russian Federation to attack the territory of Ukraine and called for new anti-Russian measures to be prepared.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
