Russia seeks to escalate the war in Ukraine, not to end it. This was stated by Romanian President Nikusor Dan in an interview with Bloomberg.
According to him, the increasing number of provocations by the Kremlin in the European Union shows that Moscow is trying to aggravate the situation and involve European countries in a new spiral of tension.
„The Russians are trying to aggravate the situation and provoke all European countries. We should not get involved in this escalation process,“ said Dan.The Romanian president said that NATO countries had come to the conclusion that better preparation was needed to be able to respond to provocations while maintaining calm.
Dan said he hoped that US President Donald Trump would be able to broker a deal between Russia and Ukraine. At the same time, he did not believe that Moscow was ready for peace.
Preparing for hybrid attacks
According to the Romanian president, European Union countries, including Romania, are seeking de-escalation, but are also preparing for hybrid attacks by Russia. Among the possible actions, he mentioned drone incursions, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns.
“We want to maintain calm and shoot down drones that enter our territory and territorial waters“, Dan said.His statement comes amid warnings of expanding risks for European countries related to the war in Ukraine. The published interview did not mention specific new incidents or additional data on individual attacks.
Washington: First ceasefire
The US permanent representative to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, said that Donald Trump continues to work to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
According to Whitaker, the negotiation process is developing more slowly than is desirable. He defined the first task as stopping the loss of life and achieving a ceasefire.
After that, according to him, talks should begin on a final settlement of the conflict and a peace agreement. Thus, the two positions presented outline a different reading of the situation: Dann warns that Russia continues to increase tensions, while Whitaker emphasizes the need for a phased negotiation process starting with a ceasefire.
Sources: unian.net, bloomberg.com, euronews.ro