Western pressure increases on Moscow Russia accuses NATO of militarizing the Black Sea

Western pressure increases on Moscow Russia accuses NATO of militarizing the Black Sea, and the Ukrainian president warns: We do not fear anyone

Moscow accused the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of militarizing the Black Sea region and exploiting the crisis with Ukraine to strengthen its military presence in eastern Europe, while Western warnings to Russia escalated, and Washington said that Russian forces, instead of withdrawing from the Ukrainian borders, began to take combat positions.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described NATO's arguments for strengthening its military presence in Eastern Europe, including the deployment of combat groups in Romania, as nonsense.

Zakharova said the militarization of the Black Sea region is an old NATO idea. And it renewed Russia's position that it would not attack any country from NATO or from outside it.

In Brussels, the alliance accused Moscow of assembling the largest military buildup since the Cold War, and decided to deploy combat forces in Eastern 

The defense ministers of NATO member states called on Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine, and to choose the path of diplomacy for dialogue regarding the security of Europe.

This came in a statement issued yesterday evening, Wednesday, by a meeting of ministers at NATO headquarters in the Belgian capital, Brussels, on the situation in Ukraine. The Ministers expressed their deep concern about the Russian military build-up on the Ukrainian border.

Don't fear anyone

In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was not afraid of anyone and was ready to defend itself against any Russian invasion.

This came in a speech during major military exercises attended by Zelensky, during which Ukrainian forces in the western city of Rivne tested anti-tank weapons supplied by the West.

The Ukrainian president then headed east to Mariupol, near the front line with pro-Russian separatists.

For his part, Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastirsky said that the security forces would respond forcefully to any separatist attempt or attempt to seize administrative buildings.

Monastirsky stated that all necessary measures have been taken for all possible scenarios to seize administrative buildings and police departments, stressing that the necessary decisions will be taken very quickly, and no separatist manifestations will be allowed inside the country.

American concern

In the United States, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington's concern about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine has not abated.

Price noted that his country is still seeing more Russian troops on the border moving to combat positions rather than withdrawing.

A senior White House official also said that Russia has strengthened its presence on the border with Ukraine with at least 7,000 soldiers, some of whom arrived on Wednesday, describing Moscow's announcement of withdrawing part of its forces as "a lie."

He stressed that Russia could "at any moment" create a pretext to invade Ukraine, adding that Moscow says it "wants to find a diplomatic solution, but its actions indicate the opposite."

Real steps

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Moscow to take real steps to defuse the tension, stressing that no significant withdrawal of Russian forces from the Ukrainian border has yet been observed.

"The risk of further military aggression by Russia against Ukraine remains high, and it is necessary to exercise the utmost caution," said a statement issued by the German Chancellery after a phone call between the two leaders.

Biden and Schulz added that "Russia must take real steps to reduce the escalation," and reiterated the warning that any further military aggression by Moscow against Ukraine would lead to "very serious consequences."

Schulz had called Biden to update him on the results of his talks Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and they welcomed Putin's statements that diplomatic efforts should continue to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

Western doubt

For its part, the Russian army announced yesterday, Wednesday, the end of exercises and the departure of Russian soldiers from the Crimean peninsula, and published a video clip that it said showed vehicles loaded with military equipment leaving the region at night.

Belarus also promised that all Russian soldiers deployed on its soil as part of exercises will leave the country on the scheduled end of the exercises on February 20.

On the other hand, both US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that they had not noticed a reduction in the Russian military presence on the border.

Blinken stressed that the Russian threat "is present and real," stressing that "on the contrary, we continue to see forces at the border, especially forces that may be at the fore in any new aggression against Ukraine."

He said that NATO would strengthen its military presence on its eastern flank to defend its allies against threats from Russia, which has become the "new normal in Europe."

In another development, the Pentagon said yesterday, Wednesday, that Russian planes approached 3 US Navy planes over the Mediterranean at the weekend.

The Russian planes approached 3 American P-8A planes while they were flying in international airspace over the Mediterranean.

A draft law banning the headscarf during sports competitions in France What's the story?

It is expected that a bill banning the wearing of headscarves in sports competitions will be referred to the French Parliament.

A bill banning the wearing of headscarves in sports competitions will be referred to the French National Assembly (parliament) after the Senate refused, on Wednesday, to vote on the legislation.

The bill, as he puts it, aims to "democratize sport", including the rules for managing major sports federations.

But it does include a clause, previously appended as an amendment by the conservative-dominated Senate, to ban the wearing of "obvious religious symbols" at events and competitions organized by sports federations.

However, the move was opposed by the centrist government of President Emmanuel Macron and its allies, which have a majority in the National Assembly, which holds the final vote on the project.

The wearing of religious symbols in public and the status of religion in general have long been hotly debated topics in France, a largely secular country that is home to Europe's largest Muslim minority.

Identity and the status of Islam in French society are among the thorny issues that occupy public opinion before the presidential elections in April, in which two far-right candidates are competing, whose programs depend on questioning the compatibility of Islam with the values ​​of the republic. Together, the two have approximately 35% of voter support.

Macron's government was quick to denounce the amendment. With the majority of his party and allies in the House of Representatives, the amendment is likely to be removed from the bill.

France will host the Summer Olympics in 2024, and critics of the legislation have questioned how much it will affect fashion protocol at the Games, whose participants will represent Muslim-majority countries, if the law is passed.