Putin warns Macron and Scholz that sending weapons to Kiev will be a “provocation” leading to an “escalation” of the war
Amid rumors of his health and the alleged weakening of his authority as a result of the slow advance of the Russian army in the Donbas, President Vladimir Putin has intensified contacts with the West via telematics to paint a threefold picture: that the offensive is going well in eastern Ukraine, that he will fight against sending weapons to Volodymyr Zelenskiy and that his country remains open to negotiations with Kiev, although the Kremlin’s proposals so far are nothing but his Ukrainian to urge his colleague to capitulate.
Putin spoke by phone this Saturday with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. According to Moscow, “the Russian president underlined the dangerous nature assumed by the continued shipment of Western weapons to Ukraine and warned in this regard of the risks of further destabilization of the situation and aggravation of the food crisis.”
This issue has been “examined in detail,” according to the Kremlin’s statement. Putin, “with arguments and based on specific data, explained the real reasons for the food supply problems: they were the result of the erroneous economic and financial policies of Western countries, as well as anti-Russian sanctions.”
“Russia stands ready to help explore options for the unimpeded export of grain, including the export of Ukrainian grain from the ports of the Black Sea,” he said, according to the Kremlin’s official note. He also said he would promote “an increased supply of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products, which will help ease tensions in the world food market.”
But for all this to happen, Russia’s top leader first demands the lifting of sanctions imposed by the West against Moscow – an issue he already discussed with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi this week – as well as the supply of arms to Ukraine. cease. Zelensky does nothing but emphasize that his country needs more weapons and especially heavy equipment in order to successfully confront Russian aggression.
In this regard, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoli Antonov, stated this Saturday that supplying Ukraine with the new Multiple Missile Launch Systems (MLRS) in Moscow would be seen as a “provocation” leading to “an escalation of the conflicts.” “. “We need to verify this information carefully.
At this point, we rely on the statements of Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, in which he assures that no decision has been made on this,” Antonov said. In his words, “there is a risk that such weapons will be deployed near the Russian borders and that the Ukrainians will have the opportunity to attack Russian cities. For us it would be an unacceptable situation. We hope common sense will prevail.”
The Russian army on Saturday announced the successful completion of a new test of the hypersonic missile ‘Tsirkon’, fired from the frigate ‘Admiral Gorshkov’, in the waters of the Barents Sea.
Moscow also reported that during the phone call with Macron and Scholz, Putin “paid special attention to the situation of the negotiations, which have been frozen over due to Kiev, and the Russian side’s willingness to resume dialogue” confirmed an agreed solution to the current conflict. Scholz and Macron called on Putin for “direct and serious negotiations” with his Ukrainian counterpart.
Spain will expand its deployment in Latvia in front of the Russian border with the additional supply of anti-aircraft missiles alongside 100 soldiers, increasing the national presence in NATO’s deterrence mission to 600 troops.
“We currently have troops in Latvia and Lithuania, in addition to the ships in the Mediterranean,” stressed Defense Minister Margarita Robles, noting that this operation “is a work of deterrence and prevention of violence”.
Source: La Verdad
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