MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2020) Moscow calls on its partners in Eastern Europe to weigh risks and consider the consequences of deploying US military on their territory on a rotational basis, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
In late July, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that some 12,000 military personnel would leave Germany in the coming weeks, which is roughly a third of the 36,000 American troops stationed in the European country. Some 6,400 soldiers would be sent home, while the others will be relocated elsewhere in Europe "in a manner that will strengthen NATO, enhance the deterrence of Russia." The troops, according to the official, will be sent to Italy, Belgium and possibly to Poland and the Baltic nations. In addition, "other military units will begin rotational deployments farther east on the continent in more strategic locations, such as near the Black Sea region."
"At the moment, we are talking about the deployment on an almost permanent basis of significant contingents of the US and its allies in Eastern Europe � where they have never been before ... It is clear that such provocations will not remain without a proper response from Russia. This fact should be taken into account in the capitals of those Eastern European countries that are constantly thinking of what else to come up with in the direction of Russophobia by inviting US soldiers. We advise them to carefully weigh all the risks and seriously think about the consequences," Zakharova said at a briefing.
According to the spokeswoman, the move proves the intention of the US and its NATO allies to continue pursuing the course of escalating tension along the line of contact with Russia to the detriment of the interests of European security.
"The fact that such a presence is casuistically called a kind of continuous rotation does not change the essence of the matter at all. These steps, if implemented, would jeopardize the provision primarily regarding not deploying significant military forces in the new member countries of the alliance fixed in the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act," the diplomat added.
Earlier in August, Esper said that Washington was sending additional troops to the Black Sea region, particularly to Romania, on a rotational basis.
