Russia accuses NATO of being “involved” in the Ukraine war after defending attacks on Russian military targets

May 27. () –

The Russian authorities have assured this Monday that the Atlantic Alliance is “involved” in the war in Ukraine after the weekend the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, defended Ukrainian attacks against targets in Russian territory as long as these are of a military nature and as part of their defense operations.

“NATO is involved in this conflict, directly involved,” said Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov during an interview with the Ren TV television network in which he accused the Atlantic bloc of “increasing the degree of escalation” and “flirt with military rhetoric.”

On the other hand, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has pointed out that Stoltenberg exceeded his duties by approving Ukrainian attacks against Russian military targets. “I doubt that the secretary general can take on the responsibility of speaking on behalf of the members of the bloc,” he said.

“I think he has exceeded his powers,” said Lavrov, who assured that some leaders of NATO member states — “in particular the Italian Prime Minister,” Giorgia Meloni — have “condemned” Stoltenberg’s position. , according to the Russian news agency TASS.

These statements from Moscow come after Stoltenberg last weekend advocated that Ukraine attack targets in Russian territory as long as they are of a military nature as part of its operations to defend itself against Russia on the front in the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, in the north. from the country.

In an interview with The Economist, Stoltenberg made veiled reference to the United States, which has prohibited Kiev from using its weapons to attack positions inside Russia, and argued that “perhaps it is time for some allies to consider lifting this kind of restrictions on the use of the weapons they send to Ukraine.

Russia has already responded to those statements through its Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Maria Zajarova, who joked about some comments that “will be very useful for all those invited to the supposed ‘peace conference’ in Switzerland,” as she made known on her account. Telegram about the international meeting in June.

The meeting will take place in Burgenstock, near Lucerne and, according to diplomatic sources consulted by Europa Press, “about 120 countries at the level of heads of State and Government” will be invited, although the final list of attendees will not likely be made public until “shortly before” the appointment.

Russia has traditionally distanced itself from this type of initiative, although Russian authorities do hope that a concrete ‘roadmap’ will emerge from the June summit for Moscow to participate in a hypothetical peace process. For now, the positions of kyiv and Moscow seem irreconcilable.