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Russian senator slams US military presence in crisis spots as destabilizing factor

On Saturday, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney entered the Black Sea, joining the USS Ross

MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. The reasons the US provided for sending the guided-missile destroyer USS Carney to the Black Sea look dubious, Chairman of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev wrote on Facebook. According to him, the statement about the need to increase the US military presence to "desensitize Russia" lacks logic. Kosachev also noted that Washington’s presence in almost all the crisis spots was becoming a destabilizing factor at the regional and global levels.

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"The reasons the Americans provide to explain their actions are even more impressive: a US military official did not hesitate to say that this step was aimed at ‘desensitizing Russia’, no less. It means, someone could tread on your foot to make you less sensitive to pain," the senior Russian senator wrote, adding that in that case Washington did not even cite the need to respond to some actions taken by Russia.

"The US military presence in almost all the crisis spots - be it the Black Sea, Korean peninsula waters or Syria - is becoming a destabilizing factor at the regional and global levels, so it is a thing the global community needs to contemplate on," Kosachev pointed out. In his view, the time has come "to show high sensitivity to this extraneous interference" and draw Washington’s attention to the devastating effect of attempts "to strengthen stability in the American way."

On Saturday, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney entered the Black Sea, joining the USS Ross. "Our decision to have two ships simultaneously operate in the Black Sea is proactive, not reactive," US Navy Vice Admiral Christopher Grady, the commander of 6th Fleet, said. Two US warships were last present in the Black Sea during the Sea Breeze US-Ukrainian naval drills in July 2017.

On Monday, CNN reported citing US military officials that the "US Navy is ramping up its presence in the Black Sea as part of a bid to counter Russia's increased presence there." According to CNN, a US military official said that "the decision to deploy both the Carney and the Ross to the Black Sea was part of an effort to "desensitize Russia" to the presence of US military forces in the Black Sea, which sits between Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Western Asia.".

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