NATO takes stock of its measures in the East, the EU delays

On the side of NATO, we arrived, this Monday, January 24, at a kind of mobilization, since the Alliance affirms that several member countries put their armies on alert, reports our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet. The Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, announced in the morning that NATO forces were ready to respond if necessary to any threat, and that these forces will be increased in Eastern Europe.

In his statement, Jens Stoltenberg recalls that frigates and fighter planes are sent by Denmark to support Lithuania, that Spain is sending ships to join NATO’s naval forces and plans to send fighter planes to Bulgaria, and finally recalls that the Netherlands is dispatching two fighter planes to Bulgaria as well, and placing ships and land forces on standby for the NATO Response Force…

Jens Stoltenberg also says that France has said it is ready to send troops to Romania and that the United States plans to increase its military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance. ” NATO will continue to take all necessary measures to protect and defend all Allies, including strengthening its eastern part “, specifies the press release.

A very firm statement, even if it does not really include new announcements, but takes stock of the reinforcements that have already been made.

Boris Johnson is threatening a new chechnya »

The Secretary General of the Alliance receives this Monday the British Minister of Foreign Affairs while the United Kingdom has evacuated its non-essential personnel from Kiev, like the United States, to the great displeasure of Ukraine. Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, warned Russia on Monday morning that an invasion of Ukraine would engage Russia in a conflict ” violent and bloody » and would amount to creating « a new Chechnya “, he hammered on the television channels.

► Read also: Washington and London call for the departure of families of diplomats from Kiev

The EU refuses to dramatize »

But on the side of the European Union, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell affirms that there is no reason to carry out such evacuations, because “ no need to dramatize “. There will be no European evacuations unless US Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken provides information” who would justify them “.

The American Secretary of State was to intervene by videoconference at this Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs. At the end of the afternoon, Washington announced that the American president would meet today from the Situation Room, with the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Council Charles Michel, the French president Emmanuel Macron , German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Polish President Andrzej Duda and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The Europeans are fine-tuning the arsenal of sanctions with which they are threatening Russia and, at the same time, the Commission is proposing to allocate financial aid to the Ukrainian government: loans and grants to the tune of one billion two hundred millions of euros.

For Moscow, NATO “exacerbates” tensions

The Kremlin’s reaction was quick after Jens Stoltenberg’s announcements in particular: Moscow accuses NATO and the United States of “exacerbating” tensions by deciding to deploy ships and combat aircraft in Eastern Europe, amid Western fears of a Russian attack on Ukraine. ” Tensions are exacerbated by the announcements and concrete actions of the United States and NATO Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters about the deployment of new Alliance forces in Eastern Europe.

► Also to listen : Calm but careful at the border between Ukraine and Russia

(And with agencies)