Russia’s top military experts have presented Russian President Vladimir Putin with possible plans of action in case tensions around Ukraine spiral into conflict, Moscow has disclosed as tensions flare between the two states.
Speaking as part of an interview on Thursday with media outlet RTVI, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that “war specialists are constantly offering options to the president in the event that conditions deteriorate.”
The diplomat remarked that “this is a difficult subject,” and that it should be handled with care in the public space because it in itself is “a rocking of the situation.” He also said that it is vital to “give diplomacy a chance.”
Ryabkov also hinted that Russia could conduct naval exercises if the West continues to provoke Moscow, but said that there is no appetite to do so. When asked about whether the possibility of deploying the country’s military infrastructure to Venezuela or Cuba had been considered, the official replied that “I don't want to confirm anything, I won't rule anything out here either."
“In American style, the optionality of foreign military policy is the cornerstone of ensuring this country’s powerful influence in the world. [It] depends on the actions of American counterparts,” the official explained.
According to Ryabkov, Putin “has spoken out many times… about what could be the activities, for example… of the Russian Navy, if things go completely in the direction of provoking Russia and further strengthening the military pressure on us by the US.” However, he reiterated that Moscow does not want to resort to such action, insisting that “diplomats have to come to an agreement.”
Ryabkov’s remarks come amid heightened tensions on the Ukrainian border in recent months. On Wednesday, representatives from NATO and Russian diplomats met in Brussels to discuss Moscow’s security proposals, in which Kiev was one of the centerpieces of the negotiations.
To facilitate a de-escalation in tensions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that the US-led military bloc should also stop supplying Ukraine with weaponry and “recall its instructors, officers, and soldiers” from its territory.
Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov sounded the alarm in December, stating that “the probability of hostilities in Ukraine is still high” when asked by reporters about the likelihood of a war in the country’s east.
At the end of November, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that in neighboring Ukraine, “more and more forces and equipment are being accumulated on the line of contact in the Donbas, supported by an increasing number of Western instructors.” The veteran diplomat also accused Western states of encouraging officials in Kiev to take anti-Russian actions, which he cautioned could easily spiral “into military adventures.”
HTurner
US-Russia talks on Ukraine have failed. Russia says US and it’s NATO allies are not prepared to meet Russia’s key demands for security guarantees. Russian envoy to OSCE Lukashevich has publicly stated "If we don’t hear a constructive response to our proposals within a reasonable time frame and aggressive behavior towards Russia continues, we'll have to act to eliminate threats to our national security."
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that they have launched military exercises with the participation of more than 10,000 troops near the Ukrainian border.
The exercise, at several training areas in the south of the country, involve motorized rifle battalions, as well as military units from the Black Sea and Caspian fleets, the Defense Ministry's Southern Military District said in a written statement.
Russia Deputy Foreign Ministry Rybakov says the U.S. and it’s NATO allies are not prepared to meet Russia’s key demands for security guarantees and that Moscow will take “other measures and techniques” in relation to western partners if the U.S. and NATO fail to address Russian demands.
Ryabkov went on to tell INTERFAX News Agency there is "No reason for new round of talks in the near future. - Situation is in a deadlock."
The Russian military has offered President Vladimir Putin options in case of deterioration of situation around Ukraine, but diplomacy had to be given a chance, Ryabkov continued.
As of 10:20 AM eastern US Time, Russian Stock Markets have dropped about 5.70% -- they know something is coming.
Early Thursday morning in Russia, no fewer than SEVEN (7) new military trains were visually verified to be moving armor and troops from eastern and central Russia, westward; an utterly massive movement of war fighting men and materiel.
In addition, Russian fighter jets armed with a new hypersonic “aircraft carrier killer missile” have been sent to a base in Syria to monitor the Royal Navy's HMS Queen Elizabeth strike force which is sailing in the eastern Mediterranean. It is the first time Russia has deployed its Kinzhal hypersonic missile overseas.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov just stated Russia awaits written answers from the U.S. and NATO responding to Russian drafts, article by article, and insists the responses arrive no later than next week.
U.S. ambassador to OSCE says "the drumbeat of war is sounding loud and the rhetoric has gotten rather shrill."
-Russia's rep to OSCE says today that Russia's proposals are "essentially a moment of truth that should determine whether we will agree on those lines that cannot be crossed, or the situation will follow a scenario that can lead to catastrophic consequences."
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“The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
From: The Gettysburg Address
Author: President Abraham Lincoln (R)
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