Jonny Tickle
RTThu, 02 Dec 2021 11:07 UTC
© Reuters/Spasiyana SergievaSoldiers from the US Army, Georgia and Bulgaria take part in the 'Balkan Sentinel 21' military drill at Novo Selo training grounds, Bulgaria, May 31, 2021.
Europe may be returning to a situation of military confrontation, and
NATO is completely refusing to listen to all Russian proposals to de-escalate tensions, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed on Thursday.
Speaking in Stockholm, which is currently hosting a meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council, Lavrov emphasized that Moscow wants to improve "strategic stability" on the continent, which he said is "rapidly eroding."
Accusing the US-led bloc of rejecting constructive discussion, Lavrov said:
"NATO refuses to consider our proposals on de-escalation of tensions and prevention of dangerous incidents. On the contrary, the alliance's military infrastructure is moving closer to Russia's borders... The nightmarish scenario of military confrontation is returning."
Lavrov's comments come amid increasing fears over an alleged military buildup on the Russian border with Ukraine. Since the start of November, some
Western media outlets have claimed that Moscow is planning an "invasion" of its neighbor, an allegation strongly denied by the Kremlin.
Last month,
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg asked Russia to be transparent about its military activities, calling the purported troop buildup "large" and "unusual."
"We have to be clear-eyed, we need to be realistic about the challenges we face. We know that Russia has been willing to use these types of military capabilities before to conduct aggressive actions against Ukraine."
Comment: Unending accusations may sadly manifest, driving irretrievable actions on the part of the accusers. Russia now claims
military action in Ukraine is highly likely:
The risk of an all-out armed conflict in south-eastern Ukraine is extremely high and is becoming a matter of grave concern for Russia, Moscow has cautioned, as international tensions heighten over the war-torn Donbass region.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that "the probability of hostilities in Ukraine is still high" when asked about the likelihood of a war in the country's east. "This is a matter of particular concern and worry for us," he added.
Peskov's remarks come a day after Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman alleged that Kiev was significantly beefing up its military force in the region by "pulling heavy equipment and personnel" into the area. Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday:
"According to some reports, the number of troops... in the conflict zone already reaches 125,000 people. This, if anyone does not know, is half of the entire composition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
Tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border have grown in recent weeks. Speaking on the same day at the Kiev Security Forum, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland warned Russia against making any moves "to internally destabilize Ukraine or use these forces to enter the country."
Should Russia's military do so, she insisted, Moscow "will be met with high-impact economic measures, the likes of which we have not used before, from all of [NATO,]" she insisted.
The Kremlin, however, has consistently rejected claims made by the US-led military bloc and Western media reports that Moscow is massing its military along the frontier line with Ukraine, blasting the claims as "hysteria."
Peskov also insisted that Russia poses no threat to anyone, and that "the movement of our armed forces on our own territory should be of no concern to anyone."
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The boiling rage and fury of the public against their governments and health agencies, and against all corporations, especially news media, will be impossible to suppress or contain, EXCEPT with a contrived war between NATO and Russia. It is a game of poker. Starting a war is doubling down on the stakes in the game of abusing citizens. The goal is genocide and population reduction, and a war will do that just as effectively as lethal mandatory vaccines.