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| Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Moscow, Russia February 7, 2022. Sputnik/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. |
The Kremlin on Tuesday said that French assertions that President Vladimir Putin had promised Emmanuel Macron that Moscow would not carry out new military initiatives around Ukraine for now were โnot rightโ.
A French official said Putin had made the pledge during long talks in Moscow on Monday evening with Macron.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia and France had not yet been able to strike a deal on de-escalating tensions around Ukraine, but said de-escalation was needed and that the meeting had provided the basis for further work on that front.
According to the same French official, Putin had also agreed that troops taking part in a military exercise on Belarusian territory near Ukraineโs borders will be pulled back once those war games are over on Feb. 20.
Peskov said troops would return to their bases in Russia after the drills, without giving a precise date, but pointed out that nobody had ever said the forces would stay in Belarus.
Meanwhile the first U.S. troops reinforcing NATO allies on the eastern flank following a Russian military build-up on Ukraineโs border have arrived in Romania, Defence Minister Vasile Dancu said on Tuesday.
The United States is sending nearly 3,000 extra troops to Poland and Romania to shield Eastern Europe from potential spillover from the Ukraine crisis.
The Pentagon said it will relocate a Stryker squadron of around 1,000 U.S. service members from Vilseck, Germany to Romania. In Poland, troops began arriving on Saturday.
Dancu told reporters the first 100 U.S. troops were in Romania handling logistics.
โThe Americans have arrived,โ he said. โOver 100 specialist U.S. soldiers together with our logistics specialists are preparing, which means it will not be long before the rest of the troops arrive.โ
The U.S. currently has about 900 soldiers in the country, a NATO member since 2004 and host to a ballistic missile defense system, some as part of the NATO force and some under separate bilateral arrangements.
France said it also plans to send troops to Romania and has offered to be the lead nation of a future NATO mission, which could see about 1,000 troops from various countries.
A decision could be made at the next NATO defence ministers meeting in mid-February.
NATO is considering a longer-term military posture in eastern Europe to strengthen its defences, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday. The alliance currently has troops rotating in and out of eastern Europe.
REUTERS
