Tag: nato

Russia Warns NATO Against Sending Any Troops To Ukraine As “Frightening” Escalation Looms

Tyler Durden – April 02, 2021

The Kremlin’s latest statements out Friday amid the potential new Ukraine crisis which has seen a serious flare-up in fighting in the Donbass region, along with what appears to be far bigger-than-usual troop movements on Russia’s side of the border, has raised the stakes further.

Russia has vowed it will take “extra measures to ensure its own security” should it observe any deployment of NATO troops inside Ukraine, the Kremlin statement said Friday according to Reuters.

It firmly warned against any potential looming NATO troop movements following Brussels voicing concern the day prior over the widespread reports and videos purporting to show a significant Russian build-up of forces along Ukraine’s eastern border.

Reuters reports Russia’s Friday statement and “warning” as follows:

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that the situation at the contact line in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatist forces was quite frightening and that multiple “provocations” were taking place there.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Taran, and “condemned recent escalations of Russian aggressive and provocative actions in eastern Ukraine,” the Pentagon said.

“Our rhetoric [over Donbass] is absolutely constructive,” Peskov said in response to journalists’ questions. “We do not indulge in wishful thinking. Regrettably, the realities along the engagement line are rather frightening. Provocations by the Ukrainian armed forces do take place. They are not casual. There have been many of them.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the Russian troop movements across the border, calling the situation “muscle-flexing” likely to lead to “provocations” for which Ukraine’s army is “ready”.

https://www.zerohedge.com

Sea of troubles: Tensions flare across Mediterranean as world powers jockey for power

Guy Taylor -September 2, 2020

The Mediterranean — an on-again, off-again geopolitical hot spot since before the pyramids were built — is emerging anew as a sea of division and instability, with powers including Russia, China, Turkey and Israel jostling aggressively for influence, natural resources and military advantage.

Moscow is eyeing a possible military base along the oil-rich shores of Libya. China is seeking investment deals across the region. Turkey is clashing with NATO partner Greece over drilling rights and militarized islands. Newly discovered offshore natural gas deposits have nations scrambling to stake their claims.

Even the Trump administration on Wednesday partially lifted an arms embargo with Cyprus in what was widely interpreted as a shot across Turkey’s bow.

Analysts generally agree that NATO is failing to ease regional tensions. The U.S., despite multiple interests, lacks leverage in many of the disputes, with President Trump accelerating a U.S. pullback begun under President Obama that opened a power vacuum that others are now scrambling to fill.

While a range of unsavory players are making moves — Iran, Hezbollah and the Islamic State are among those seeking to exploit the situation — many in Europe and Washington are pointing the finger at Turkey for escalating the crisis by threatening to use force to take possession of natural gas finds beneath a string of Mediterranean islands that most in Europe say belongs to Greece.

The two NATO member states are now locked in a dangerous maritime standoff that is shaking the alliance to its core, with mediation attempts by Germany and others in the European Union so far going nowhere while the Trump administration warily monitors the situation.

https://www.washingtontimes.com

NATO Launches New Massive Exercise on Russia’s Doorstep

Tru-News – June 11, 2020

NATO is sending yet another provocative message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, sending an armada of warships, more than two dozen aircraft, and 3,000 personnel from 19 countries into the Baltic Sea for “drills.”

The 10-day BaltOps exercise will include participants from the U.S., UK, France, Germany, and the former Soviet satellite states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The annual drill, a relic of the Cold War dating back to the early-1970s, will be commanded remotely from NATO’s new Joint Operations Center in Lisbon, Portugal.

During the first phase of BaltOps, the various military units will learn how to work together. In the second phase, they will test their ability to “respond to threats” in coordination with one another. Typically, it also includes ground operations, but that phase has been eliminated due to risk of spreading COVID-19.

The exercises take place against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s decision to remove 9,500 American soldiers from Germany. That move prompted a backlash from British politicians who say it will “play into Russia’s hands.”

It also comes as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has suggested a pivot in the alliance’s mission. During a speech this week, he said the organization must focus on the threat posed by China “to our values and way of life.” He added that there needs to be a “more global approach” to dealing with Beijing:

“The rise of China is fundamentally shifting the global balance of power, heating up the race for economic and technological supremacy, multiplying the threats to open societies and individual freedoms and increasing the competition over our values and our way of life.

“We cannot ignore the consequences of the rise of China. China will soon have the biggest economy in the world, and they already have the second largest defense budget. They are investing heavily in new modern capabilities.”

https://www.trunews.com

Drums of War Beating Loudly All Over the World

Tru News – May 20, 2020

The drums of war seem to be beating loudly again—this time all over the world—with Russia, China, and Iran all preparing for direct conflict with the U.S.

Russia has expressed its dismay after the U.S. ambassadors to Germany and Poland both, within days of each other, suggested American nuclear weapons are necessary and could be redeployed closer to Russia’s border. The fiasco began last Thursday when Ambassador Ric Grenell—who serves jointly as ambassador to Germany and as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser—wrote an article slamming Berlin for threatening to renege on its commitments to NATO.

Grenell wrote, in part:

“The purpose of NATO’s nuclear share is to keep non-nuclear member states involved in the planning of NATO’s deterrence policy. Germany’s participation in nuclear share ensures that its voice matters. If Germany seeks to be a true power for peace, now is the time for solidarity. Will Germany bear this responsibility, or will it sit back and simply enjoy the economic benefits of security provided by its other Allies?

“German political leaders speak often about the need to look at not only total military spending, but at specific capabilities needed for our collective security. A credible nuclear deterrent, including through nuclear-capable aircraft, is a core NATO capability. One that remains needed in today’s world, and one that Germany has pledged to contribute to.”

Ambassador Georgette Mosbacher, Washington’s representative in Poland, shared Grenell’s commentary on Friday. In doing so, she added her own commentary:

“If Germany wants to diminish nuclear capability and weaken NATO, perhaps Poland—which pays its fair share, understands the risks, and is on NATO’s eastern flank—could house the capabilities here.”

https://www.trunews.com

German Military Spending Up by Double Digits as World Total Hits Highest Level Since Cold War

Sputnik News – April 27, 2020

The Trump administration has repeatedly pressured Berlin to ramp up its military spending, threatening to pull troops out of the country and station them in Poland if the country doesn’t meet NATO’s 2 percent of GDP spending guidelines.

German defence spending jumped upward by a whopping 10 percent between 2018 and 2019, with the country’s military budget rising faster than that of any other major power, new figures by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) suggest.

According to the think tank’s figures, Berlin’s defence commitments, which reached the equivalent of $49.3 billion in 2019, grew faster than any of the world’s top 15 countries by total military expenditures.

The spending increase comes amid US President Donald Trump’s repeated berating of Germany and other European NATO members over their failure to meet the 2 percent of GDP military spending goal set at the alliance’s 2014 summit in Wales. Washington has repeatedly singled out German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her failure to increase defence commitments, even though Germany is one of 19 alliance members that failed to meet the spending requirements.

Germany has already committed some €45 billion (about $50 billion) on defence in 2020, increasing spending from 1.23 percent of GDP on defence in 2018 to 1.38 percent this year. Merkel also promised to increase Berlin’s defence outlays to 1.5 percent of GDP by 2023, and to 2 percent by 2031.

https://sputniknews.com