One of the Kremlin’s top propagandists argued that Russia should occupy US military bases in Europe, including in Portugal, so that Moscow would never become the target of European threats, the British newspaper Daily Express reported.
Propagandist Vladimir Soloviev, ‘linchpin’ of one of the most watched television programs in Russia and supporter of President Vladimir Putin, was quoted by the British tabloid defending live that “American occupation forces must be withdrawn from Europe”.
‘In this way we will be sure that Europe will behave very decently and that no threat to our state will come from European territory.Soloviev said in an intervention that the British newspaper described as “inflammatory” and in an “enraged tone”.
In a video shared by the news website Nexta on the social network X, Solovyov stated that Moscow “should capture the North American bases in Germany, Italy and Portugal. [Base Aérea das Lajes, na ilha Terceira, no arquipélago dos Açores]”.
Kremlin clown Solovyov issued an ultimatum to NATO, demanding the transfer of military bases in Europe to Russia
Soloviev mentions Ramstein, France and Italy among the places where Russian military bases should be located.
“I believe that all American occupying forces… pic.twitter.com/AD4OBUuNH1
– NEXTA (@nexta_tv) December 25, 2023
“I believe that all US occupation forces should be withdrawn from Europe and US military bases should be located far away from the territory of the Russian Federation,” the presenter said during the program ‘At Night with Vladimir Solovyov’.
“For example, it is perfectly possible to occupy some of the military bases prepared by the Americans in Western Europe. We could very well be stationed at a series of bases in Italy. But Ramstein [Alemanha] could be our base,” he added.
Ramstein is a United States air base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany, and serves as the headquarters for U.S. forces in Europe and Africa as well as for the Allied Air Command of the Atlantic Treaty Organization North – NATO (AIRCOM).
Solovyov’s statements come at a time of reports that the Russian president is preparing for a “future large-scale war” with NATO, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank recalled.
ISW recalled that Putin “threatened Finland and the broader NATO alliance” on Russian state television channel Rossiya 1 earlier this month.
In this sense, the US think tank continued, the Russian military is currently restructuring the Western Military District (DMO) to reform the Leningrad Military District (DML) and the Moscow Military District (DMM) “as part of a long-term restructuring and expansion effort that aims to prepare Russia for a potential large-scale conventional war against NATO.”
“The DMO is responsible for Russia’s border with NATO members Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland, but has largely focused on fighting in Ukraine, where it has suffered significant losses,” the ISW pointed out.
On the other hand, recalls to the Daily Express that the President of the United States, Joe Biden, stated earlier this month that Russia would be willing to attack NATO if it won the war in Ukraine, which entered its 672nd day today.
Biden, the British newspaper continued, warned that “if Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there,” adding that a Russian attack on allies could lead to “American forces fighting Russian forces.”
In this context, Putin was quick to dedramatize Biden’s statements, arguing that Russia has “no interest” in attacking NATO.
“It is complete nonsense and I think President Biden understands that Russia has no reason and no interest, neither geopolitically, economically, politically nor militarily, to fight against the NATO countries,” Putin said in a television interview with the state-owned company Rossiya.
Source: DN
