ANP Products ⁇ Source: AP
Moscow
Russia announced on Thursday that it could respond militarily if the United States pressed for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Eastern and Central Europe if it did not meet its defense requirements.
“Russia will be forced to respond, including to military-technical measures, in the event of a US reluctance to negotiate firm and legal guarantees for our security from the United States and its allies,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Response to US proposals. “We urge the withdrawal of all US troops from Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Baltic states,” the ministry said.
The Russians are responding to the US refusal to comply with key demands of the country, including a ban on Ukraine’s entry into NATO and a reduction in Western influence in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet states.
In that statement, Russia reiterated that it had no plans to invade Ukraine, although the United States had said it could launch an attack at any time. “There has been no ‘Russian invasion’ of Ukraine, and the United States and its allies have not officially announced or planned it since last autumn,” the State Department said in a statement.
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