Zakharova declared Russia's serious attitude to the militarization of Europe

Russia takes the militarization of Europe very seriously and takes this into account in military planning. The corresponding statement was made on January 15 by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

"We <...> do not intend to put up with actions that pose a potential threat to the security of our country, and as a response we will be forced to take this new reality into account in our military planning, <...>..> including modernization programs for all types of weapons and military equipment," the diplomat said.

Zakharova noted that Russia is closely monitoring the steps of the European Union and NATO, which are aimed at strengthening the militarization of the bloc's countries. According to her, Western countries are pumping weapons into the Kiev regime in order to use Ukraine as a tool against Russia.

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On the same day, Financial Times (FT) columnist Martin Sandbu reported that European leaders do not have the leverage necessary to gain a seat at the negotiating table with Moscow on a possible settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. The observer called it an intriguing sign of change that some European leaders are now allowing direct dialogue with the Kremlin, mentioning the proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni to create a post of special representative of the European Union (EU) for Ukraine to protect European interests while Moscow and Washington are "plotting something."

On January 14, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on the heads of European states to propose specific contacts for dialogue, rather than limit themselves to public statements. The Minister stressed that Moscow is ready for negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict if they are open and serious, and long-term peace can be achieved only by eliminating the root causes of the crisis.

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