Kremlin “worried” over orders to prepare 8,500 US troops for deployment to Europe

“Waiting for a written response from the US to Russia’s security claims…Putin and Macron call this week”

“Russian-Cuban summit call does not discuss the issue of building a Russian military base in Cuba”

(Moscow, Seoul = Yonhap News) Correspondent Yoo Cheol-jong, Correspondent Lee Eui-jin = Russia is watching with concern the US measures to prepare for the deployment of troops in Europe in relation to the ‘Ukrainian crisis’, the Kremlin’s press office said on the 25th (local time).

Kremlin spokeswoman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on the same day that “what is happening in the information space and practically on the American side is an act of escalating tensions.” did.

He commented on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s order the previous day to increase readiness for 8,500 U.S. troops so that they could be deployed to Europe at urgent notice if needed, and that this measure would not affect security negotiations between the U.S. and Russia. expected to have no effect at all.

“Negotiations at this stage are complete,” he said regarding the Russia-Western chain of security negotiations that took place up to last week, he said. .

“We expect this to happen this week,” he said, adding that Russia’s future position will be determined based on a conceptual framework that will be established by President Vladimir Putin after the US responds to the security claims.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asked for a written response to Russia’s security claims during negotiations with US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln in Geneva, Switzerland on the 21st, and the US has promised to do so within this week.

Russia demanded that the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) conclude a security agreement with the guarantee that the former Soviet Union would not join NATO, including Ukraine, and that it would not deploy NATO’s offensive weapons in neighboring countries. have.

Russia and the West have been negotiating a series of negotiations since the middle of this month to discuss Russia’s demands and the easing of tensions heightened by Russia’s preparations for an invasion of Ukraine, but with no concrete results.

A written response from the US to Russia’s security claims, which will be delivered this week, is expected to be an important watershed in negotiations to ease military tensions between Russia and the West over the Ukraine crisis.

Spokesperson Peskov said Putin is expected to speak by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron within this week to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

In a phone call between President Putin and Cuban President Miguel Diascanel the day before, he introduced that the issue of building a Russian military base in Cuba was not discussed.

It is reported that Putin discussed strategic cooperation issues during a phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on the 20th and Cuban President Diascanel on the 24th.

Russia has maintained close cooperation with Latin American countries such as Cuba and Venezuela.

In the face of confrontation with the West, Russia appears to be pursuing a policy of indirectly putting pressure on the United States through cooperation with Latin American countries that are close to the United States.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who led the Russian delegation to security negotiations with the United States in mid-March, warned on the 13th that if negotiations with the West fail, Russia could take steps such as deploying military infrastructure in Latin America, Cuba or Venezuela. have done

It was a remark reminiscent of the ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’ incident in 1962, during the Cold War, when the former Soviet Union attempted to build a military base in communist Cuba and deploy nuclear missiles aimed at the United States.

pual07@yna.co.kr

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2022/01/25 23:01 Send