Peskov called the clause on London's military bases in Kiev under the centennial treaty worrying
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- Peskov called the clause on London's military bases in Kiev under the centennial treaty worrying
The possibility of deployment of the UK military infrastructure in Ukraine under the Centennial Agreement is a cause for concern, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitriy Peskov, has said. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Peskov on 17 January.
He said that the Kremlin negatively assessed the expansion of military cooperation between Ukraine and the UK in the Sea of Azov, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. The presidential spokesman also noted that the treaty was not a guarantee of Kiev's membership in NATO.
"Given that Britain is a NATO country, the advancement of its military infrastructure towards our borders is certainly an element of quite concern," he said during the briefing.
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.
