Moscow, April 29, 2024 (Online): Warnings from some EU leaders that Russia could attack Europe if it prevails in the Ukraine conflict are essentially ìhorror storiesî made up to distract people from domestic problems in their own countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
He was responding to a reporterís question regarding recent statements by Polish President Andrzej Duda, who signaled that his country was open to hosting US nuclear weapons. Duda claimed that this would ìstrengthen the security of NATOís eastern flankî as Russia was ìincreasingly militarizingî its exclave of Kaliningrad, which borders Poland and Lithuania, as well as deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus. Several other European leaders have also warned that Russia could attack an EU member state if it defeats Ukraine on the battlefield.
ìEuropean capitals are escalating tension in every possible wayÖ trying to fool their population with these horror stories about terrible Russians who will never stop and continue moving forward. Thatís absolutely groundless,î Peskov said in an interview aired by Rossiya 1 TV channel on Sunday.
According to the spokesman, the ëRussian threatí is used by some European leaders ìto cover upî their internal economic or political problems, while some even ìtry to compensate for the loss of their image, their ratingî with their
warnings regarding Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made similar remarks last month, when he dismissed any talk of a potential Russian attack on Poland, the Czech Republic, or the Baltic states as ìnonsenseî and attempts to scare local citizens ìto extract additional expenses from people.î
Last year, Russia placed its tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, but Putin explained the move at the time as a response to NATOís increased military activity close to Belarusian and Russian territory. Meanwhile, Moscow has repeatedly stressed it has never threatened to use its nuclear arsenal and has no plans to do so.
Dudaís statements regarding the placement of US nuclear weapons on Polish soil were criticized by Polish officials and the countryís NATO allies. Polandís Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Friday said Duda had no authority to speculate publicly about the matter.
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu also warned that an additional nuclear deployment would breach key arms-control accords between NATO and Russia. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg completely dismissed the idea of expanding the blocís nuclear-sharing arrangements, saying at a press briefing on Tuesday that the alliance had ìno plans to deploy any more nuclear weapons in any additional NATO countries.î
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