The prospect of putting Western boots on the ground in the country was previously raised by French President Emmanuel Macron
FILE PHOTO: Polish soldiers holding Polish, NATO, and EU flags during a parade rehearsal © Marek Antoni Iwanczuk / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
The US and its allies could further escalate their involvement in the Ukraine conflict by deploying troops to the country, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandr Fomin has claimed.
Western nations insist that they are not parties to the conflict and are simply helping Kiev to fend off “unprovoked aggression” by Russia. Speaking at the Xiangshan defense forum in Beijing on Friday, Fomin reiterated Moscow’s position that the hostilities are a US-initiated proxy war against Moscow.
”Kiev is receiving comprehensive military assistance. [The Ukrainians] are getting modern weapons and are being nudged into delivering strikes on Russian territory,” he said.
”NATO nations are preparing plans to deploy their own troops to Ukraine, seeking to create conditions for forcing Russia into accepting Kiev’s [demands] through negotiations. This is a dangerous game, which may result in a direct clash of nuclear nations,” Fomin added.
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The deputy minister outlined Russia’s concern that the US could significantly reduce the threshold for the use of nuclear arms as part of a revision of its nuclear posture.
The Ukrainian incursion in Russia’s Kursk Region, which started last month, has “introduced a new dimension” to the conflict, Fomin said. Now, Western claims that the country is a victim fighting a justified conflict for independence have been shattered “by the Ukrainian aggression against Russian civilians,” he argued.
The West has used Ukraine as a tool to harm Russia since the armed coup in Kiev in 2014, he stated.
The prospect of sending Western troops to Ukraine was raised earlier this year by French President Emmanuel Macron, but several other NATO member states subsequently ruled out any such deployment. Macron later claimed his remarks had been intended to keep Moscow guessing as to how far the US-led military bloc would go to support Kiev.
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Fomin was speaking at a plenary session of the Asian event, in which military officials from Vietnam, Singapore, Pakistan, Fiji and Malaysia also participated. The Xiangshan forum is an annual gathering hosted by China, at which matters relating to international peace and security are discussed.
