Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Maria ZakharovaMOSCOW, Feb 16This is not the first time the United States has played a card with an «appeal» to the Russian people, while President Joe Biden should fire his analysts who predicted an aggravation of the situation around Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Earlier, Biden said that the United States and NATO do not pose a threat Russia, they do not have missiles in Ukraine and they do not plan to place them there. Addressing the citizens of Russia, he said: «You are not our enemy.» The President also said that he «does not believe that you want a bloody destructive war with Ukraine.» «How familiar it all is. Every time they try to do something with us, we are told that» we are friends us enemies, it doesn’t matter that we are not acting entirely in your interests, but it only seems so to you at first glance, we will convince you of the opposite.” This is not the first time this card has been played,” Zakharova said on the air of the Rossiya 24 TV channel. «I was struck by something else — he referred to some analysts, so they need to be fired, such analysts who predict a war between two states, both of which reject this war,» Zakharova added.
Zakharova responded to Biden's words about the «price to protect freedom»Western states have recently expressed concern about Russia's allegedly dangerous actions near the borders of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly rejected such accusations, saying that it does not threaten anyone and is not going to attack anyone, and statements about «Russian aggression» are used as a pretext to deploy more NATO military equipment near Russian borders. Unsubstantiated allegations that Russia is preparing provocations continue to come from the West, despite the return of Russian troops to their places of deployment after the exercises. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. At a meeting with Putin, the head of the RF Ministry of Defense reported that «some of the exercises are coming to an end, some will be completed in the near future.» The Southern and Western military districts of the Russian Federation have begun returning troops to their places of deployment, Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, told reporters on Tuesday.
