Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration — Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov MOSCOW, 17 Jan. Russia is observing a gradual NATO invasion of Ukraine and can no longer put up with it, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday in an interview with CNN. offensive weapons, training of the Ukrainian military and the like,» the spokesman for the Russian leader said, commenting on Moscow's vision of the current situation around Ukraine. As Peskov noted, this development of events has brought relations between Russia and NATO to a «red line», a situation that Moscow » can't take it anymore.» «And that was the main reason why President Putin said, 'Guys, this is a real threat to us.' And this is a real threat to stability and security in Europe and the European security architecture,» the senior Kremlin official added. .
Peskov explained his words about offensive weapons in UkraineNATO is not a dove of peace, but an instrument of confrontation, creeping up to the borders of Russia, Peskov said. «NATO in our understanding is an organization that was created for confrontation, not protection. And NATO is not a dove of peace, stability and prosperity. And this weapon of confrontation has been moving closer and closer to our borders every day,” he said. legally binding form. «There was a promise from the American side, unfortunately not recorded in the form of a legally binding document, but there was a guarantee that NATO would never expand its military or political infrastructure to the east,» he said. that the alliance should withdraw the military from the countries that have joined it since 1997, the general said in turn bloc secretary Jens Stoltenberg.
«NATO allies cannot compromise the absolutely key principles of European, national security. The fact that each country chooses its own path — whether it wants to be a member of such an alliance as NATO or not … Also, we cannot agree that we have there should not be NATO soldiers in all countries that have joined NATO since 1997,» he said in an interview with the Canadian CBC TV channel.
Stoltenberg expressed the opinion that with such a development of events, half of the alliance members will not be protected by NATO military and become «members of the second row».
Peskov told why Russia has troops on the border with UkraineThe situation around UkraineWestern politicians have been claiming in recent months that Russia has concentrated troops on the border with Ukraine. As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out, the armed forces are moving within the territory of the state — this does not threaten anyone and should not worry anyone. Moscow stressed that statements about «Russian aggression» are being used as a pretext for building up NATO contingents in the border regions. As Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted earlier, NATO is increasing arms supplies to Ukraine, where the number of Western instructors has increased. According to the diplomat, this could provoke the Ukrainian authorities «to military adventures,» which poses a direct threat to Russia's security. Moscow believes that the West is trying to create a grouping of troops near the Russian borders. Vladimir Putin has previously stressed that the further expansion of NATO to the East and the deployment of offensive weapons on Ukrainian territory and in neighboring countries are red lines for Moscow.
The wisdom of the leaders of Russia and the United States will allow reaching a compromise, Peskov said