Ambassador Andrey Kelin said Moscow would treat NATO soldiers on the ground as a security threat
Russia will treat the deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine as a threat to its security, Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin has said.
The diplomat rejected plans by the so-called Coalition of the Willing to send “peacekeepers” to Ukraine after a ceasefire is reached with Russia.
“We will not allow [the deployment] of any NATO member state’s troops on the territory of Ukraine because it will be another line of attack against Russia,” Kelin said in an interview with Channel 4 News aired on Wednesday. “We understand that Ukraine wants guarantees. We also need guarantees,” he added.
The diplomat said the presence of foreign troops on Ukrainian soil would be unacceptable. Asked about a Financial Times report that Ukraine and its European backers had agreed to deploy Western troops in the event of a violation of a potential ceasefire, Kelin said such plans were “dead.”
Kelin reiterated that Russia is seeking a comprehensive peace deal with Ukraine rather than an immediate, unconditional ceasefire. He added that normalization of ties between Russia and the West, as well as trust-building measures, would help prevent further conflicts.
“There are positive and negative security guarantees. If you send troops, this is one thing. But many agreements that end conflicts [are based] on political guarantees, legal guarantees. The best would be a good relationship between the United States and Russia, between European countries and Russia, including London,” Kelin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited Ukraine’s military cooperation with NATO and its aspirations to join the US-led bloc as among the key causes of the conflict. Moscow has warned that it would treat any Western troops in Ukraine as legitimate military targets.
https://www.rt.com/russia/632012-kelin-ukraine-western-troops/
The Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has begun a sweeping round of layoffs that will eliminate roughly one in three newsroom jobs, marking one of the most severe workforce reductions in the paper’s history.
Staff were informed on Wednesday that the cuts are part of what management described as a “broad strategic reset,” a move that will shutter entire departments, sharply reduce international coverage, and significantly restructure local and editorial operations.
Emails sent to employees on Wednesday morning indicated that about 300 of The Post’s roughly 800 journalists are expected to lose their jobs. Several staffers described the scale of the cuts as a “bloodbath.”
Employees were told they would be notified individually of their status and that those laid off would receive benefits through mid-April.
“These moves are painful,” Executive Editor Matt Murray said during a staff-wide call. “This is a tough day.”
Entire sections dismantled
According to Murray, the ...
Pentagon
Telaviv is reportedly concerned that Trump could reach a deal with Tehran without ordering military strikes
A senior Israeli military delegation led by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir made a secret visit to Washington over the weekend amid intensifying tensions over Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and a growing US military presence in the region.
According to Israeli and US media reports, Zamir met with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and other senior US defense officials at the Pentagon to present sensitive intelligence, discuss military options against Iran and attempt to shape ongoing diplomatic contacts between the Trump administration and Tehran.
The visit, which had not been publicly disclosed at the time, comes as Israel is growing increasingly concerned that US President Donald Trump could ultimately strike a deal with Iran focused narrowly on freezing uranium enrichment while leaving Tehran’s ballistic missile program largely intact and ...
Negotiations over the agreement between Kinshasa and Washington lack transparency and breach Congolese law, Corneille Nangaa has claimed
An agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and the US on critical minerals is “deeply flawed and unconstitutional,” the leader of a rebel coalition in the Central African nation has told Reuters.
Corneille Nangaa, who leads the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), which includes the M23 force, said the deal was negotiated behind closed doors and breaches Congolese law.
The strategic partnership, part of the Washington Accord for Peace and Prosperity signed on December 4, is intended to expand US access to critical minerals in return for investment and security cooperation.
However, Nangaa told Reuters on Monday that “the opacity surrounding the negotiations” and “procedural flaws, particularly the violation of the constitution and the law,” undermine the agreement’s legitimacy.....more below
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