MOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. Moscow keeps calling on Washington to stop fueling tensions in Europe, but, regrettably, the US continue doing so, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday, commenting on the US decision to send additional forces to Europe.
"We keep calling on our US counterparts to stop fueling tensions in the European continent. Regrettably, the Americans keep doing that," the spokesman said.
"And, in this case, we are not talking simply about provocative statements that a war will happen soon, that everyone will pay a horrible price and so on; we are talking specifically about sending US soldiers to European countries near our borders," he added.
Peskov underscored that the US’ decision is not aimed at de-escalating tensions. "Obviously, these are not steps aimed at de-escalation; on the contrary, their actions lead to escalation of these tensions. This is the only way to treat it," the spokesman said.
According to Peskov, Russia’s concerns over the Washington’s decision are totally understandable, and all measures Russia takes to ensure its own security are totally explainable. "Obviously, the Russia’s concern in this case is totally understandable, totally justified; and any measures taken by Russia to ensure its own security and its own interests are just as explainable and understandable," the spokesman said.
When asked about the measures in question, Peskov noted that "those are the measures considered necessary by the people tasked with ensuring our security."
On Wednesday, the Pentagon announced Washington’s decision to transfer about 1,000 US soldiers from Germany to Romania, plus additional 2,000 soldiers from the US to Germany and Poland.