The Kremlin negatively assessed the expansion of military cooperation between Ukraine and Britain
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- The Kremlin negatively assessed the expansion of military cooperation between Ukraine and Britain
The Kremlin negatively assesses the expansion of military cooperation between Ukraine and the UK in the Sea of Azov, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on January 17.
"Negatively. This is really Russia's internal sea, and there can hardly be any talk about cooperation between Ukraine and the UK there," Peskov said in response to a question from reporters about the Ukraine-UK Centennial Partnership Treaty.
Furthermore, saying that this treaty also envisages the possibility of placing British military bases and infrastructure on the Ukrainian side, Peskov noted that this does not guarantee Kiev's membership in the alliance. However, he added that due to the fact that Britain is a NATO country, the advancement of its military infrastructure to Russia's borders is a worrying factor.
"But in any case, we will just have to further analyze what will happen," the presidential spokesman said.
The document in question was signed the day before by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose powers expire in May 2024, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who traveled to Kiev. Following the talks, Starmer said that the UK will always be ready to play a leading role in supporting Ukraine. In addition, he announced the transfer of a new air defense system to Ukraine.
It was also noted that the UK intends to consider the possibility of placing military bases in Ukraine, which is spelled out in the declaration.
Alexei Zudin, a political scientist and a senior lecturer at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, commented to Izvestiya that the agreement between the UK and Ukraine "on a century-long partnership" is political in nature. The document only confirms London's determination to continue supporting Kiev, but it will not be effective without Washington's participation.
On January 4, it was reported that Starmer intends to meet with US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington after his inauguration to convince the politician to continue supplying arms to Ukraine.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
