Russia Brands US Troops in Poland a Threat to Security

by Amna El Tawil
 
Kremlin strongly criticized the biggest deployment of US troops in Europe since the end of cold war and branded it as the threat to Russia’s national security. The main goal of the deployment of US troops to European content is to counteract Russia’s aggressive behavior in Eastern Europe and was advised by NATO. It’s important to bear in mind that this is the very first time American troops are permanently stationed alongside Russia’s western border.
 
BBC reports: “President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the BBC that the move “threatens our interests and our security”.
 
“It’s a third country that is building up its military presence on our borders in Europe,” he said. “It isn’t even a European country.”
 
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Mechkov called the deployment a “factor destabilizing European security”.
 
Poland’s Undersecretary of State for Defence Tomasz Szatkowski said the deployment was necessary because of Russia’s “large exercises” next to its border and its “aggressive actions in our vicinity – I mean Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea“.
 
The arrival of the US forces to this part of Europe comes just a few days before the inauguration of the President-elect Donald Trump, who has pointed out he wants to improve relations with Moscow.
 
In addition to US troops, NATO members Germany, Canada and Britain are also sending up to 1,000 troops, each to the former Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
 
In the meantime, Peter Cook, the Pentagon press spokesman, said: “The United States is demonstrating its continued commitment to collective security through a series of actions designed to reassure Nato allies and partners of America’s dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region in light of the Russian intervention in Ukraine.”
 
The arrival of the troops will be announced in official ceremonies on Saturday.