NATO states that Russia continues to build up troops around Ukraine.
The meeting between Macron and Putin took place in Moscow on February 7 / getty images
The US State Department reacted to the readiness of Russian President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate on the Russian-Ukrainian border, which he, according to the French leader, expressed during a meeting with Macron in Moscow.
This was discussed during a briefing by US State Department Spokesperson Jalin Porter.
Porter was asked how Washington evaluates Macron’s words that Putin allegedly promised to stop the escalation.
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She, in turn, noted the Russian troops around and in the occupied territories of Ukraine, which Moscow continues to accumulate.
“The fact is that there are still more than 100,000 Russian soldiers around Ukraine. Russia continues to transfer troops and equipment to the borders with Ukraine. And we believe that they are in positions where they can attack at any moment,” Porter said. .
She added that the United States is not in a position to control Russia’s actions, but can make it clear to the ally and partners that Russia will have big consequences in the event of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“And if Russia does invade, then over time it will be in a weaker position, and NATO will become stronger and more united,” Porter said.
To clarify whether any of the representatives of the US State Department had contact with the French side during the meeting between Macron and Putin, Porter only added: “We continue to closely consult and coordinate our actions with our allies and partners.”
(C)UNIAN 2022
What came before
On February 7, Macron and Putin met in Moscow, during which the parties discussed the security situation around Ukraine and the continuation of a joint dialogue on the de-occupation of Donbass.
Commenting on the results of the talks, the French president said that Putin was ready to stop the troop buildup . The Russian president himself replied that he had received “a number of ideas” from Paris that interested him.
This was followed by a publication in the Financial Times about an alleged deal between Macron and Putin , according to which Russia agrees to remove troops from Belarus involved in “allied exercises”.
On the evening of February 8, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated the continued accumulation of Russian troops around Ukraine. “Therefore, the time to prevent decreases and the risk of attack increases. We also see threatening rhetoric from Russia, which says that if we do not agree to its demands, there will be what they call military-technical consequences,” said the Secretary General.
“And if Russia does invade, then over time it will be in a weaker position, and NATO will become stronger and more united,”
This will be a true relief to 44 million people fearing for their lives. SHAME ON YOU COWARDLY FUCK UPS!
Minsk does not even acknowledge that Russia is the occupier. Therefore it is nothing but a charter for the legitimacy of evil and savagery. Putler and his butt boy are doing their best to pressure Ukraine into an agreement that could destroy its position as an independent unitary state.
From the Telegraph today :
‘Hubristic Macron may be heading for another fall’
Naive, immodest and pretentious, the president’s foreign policy record hardly inspires confidence, says Anne-Elisabeth Moutet.
In what mirror universe can you call “a success” a Macron diplomatic trip to Moscow ending up with Vladimir Putin, at the post-discussions press conference, threatening Europe with nuclear war should Nato help Ukraine regain her Russian-annexed Crimean province? In pre-presidential election Paris – but nowhere else.
I might be unduly pessimistic. The French president asserted yesterday that, as a result of his meetings in Moscow and Kyiv, he now saw a path towards easing tensions between Russia and Ukriane. He hinted there may even be the basis of some sort of deal. But given Emmanuel Macron’s notorious hubris – Élysée aides, before and after the summit with Putin, briefed the media that “Vladimir Putin has already lost” – it is hard to avoid the suspicion that any deal will ultimately lead to Moscow achieving its wish to “Finlandise” Ukraine. That is if it is even implemented in the first place.”
What exactly did the little frog do to deserve a praise? I haven’t heard anything, yet, that would impress me in the least.