WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Scholz to Putin: we will defend 'every square inch' of NATO territory

NATO's recent move to strengthen its eastern border is aimed at deterring Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday, adding that it should be clear to Moscow that the alliance will be ready to defend itself if necessary.

Speaking at the Eastern German Economic Forum also attended by Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, Scholz said Germany has played a leading role in NATO's presence in the Baltics on Russia's border, stretching back nearly a decade.

"And because the threat from Russia will continue, we and other allies decided last year to deploy additional units to the Baltic states and to station an entire brigade there permanently in future," Scholz said, according to a speech manuscript.

"But this turnaround in security policy is necessary to show Russia: We are prepared to defend every square inch of NATO territory against attacks."

He said diplomacy would only be successful from a position of strength, adding that it was absolutely vital that Baltic states could fully rely on NATO allies jumping to their defence in the event of a Russian attack.

"And that is a message for us. But it is also a message to Russia. Because the credibility of this promise is of course also part of Russia's calculation."

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week warned NATO members against allowing Ukraine to fire their weapons into Russia, after several Western allies lifted restrictions imposed on the use of weapons donated to Kyiv.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Friday dismissed the warnings, saying the alliance had heard them many times before and self-defence was not escalation.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Hundreds protest Ukraine aid in Berlin

Hundreds of protesters marched in the German capital, Berlin, on Saturday, demanding a halt to military aid for Kiev and the “dangerous” anti-Russia rhetoric. This comes on the heels of explosive statements from the German government earlier this week regarding Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons for strikes deep inside Russia.

Footage from the demonstration shows protesters marching from Berlin’s Alexanderplatz with flags and banners reading: “Stop war and hate speech against Russia,” “Stop Russophobia in Politics and Media,” and “NATO is the aggressor not Russia.” Activists accused the German government of making political decisions “on orders from Washington,” and warned of the consequences of a direct conflict with Moscow.

“The German government is not sovereign... When you see how the German government destroyed its economy with agreeing with Washington… then you see Germany is not in control of the situation,” an activist who identified himself as George told Ruptly video agency. He added that the government’s decision to give Kiev “weapons that can reach Russia” makes Germany “a partner in this war,” creating a situation which is “very dangerous for Germany, for Germans, and the rest of the world.”

Another activist called on Berlin to “do everything it can to ensure that no war economy is necessary and that no land war comes.”

NATO and its Western allies have provided weapons and equipment to Ukraine, but maintained restrictions on their use. However, Kiev has recently intensified calls to relax the restrictions, especially those limiting its ability to strike targets in Russia. Several NATO states have spoken in favor of the move, including Germany.

Earlier this week, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Berlin believes Kiev’s “defensive action is not limited to its own territory, but [can] also be expanded to the territory of the aggressor.” On Friday, he went on to signal that Kiev can use the weapons supplied by the West to attack Russian border regions from which the Ukrainian army’s positions in Kharkov Region are attacked.

Moscow has warned that Western arms supplies to Kiev will only prolong the conflict. Commenting on talk within NATO regarding Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons to strike deep inside Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the bloc of provoking a new “round of tensions.”

“They are doing this deliberately, we hear a lot of hawkish statements… They are in every possible way provoking Ukraine to continue this senseless war. They themselves intend to continue the war with us, the war in both the literal and figurative sense,” he told reporters on Thursday.

Reuters/RT