The US is sending its consultants to the defence ministries of Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and the Balkan Peninsula countries, Intelligence Online reports.
The experts are to help bring the armies of these countries in line with US standards. Washington is thus “taking responsibility” for the defence ministries of countries “that want to leave Moscow’s orbit and abandon the Russian model.”
The armies of these countries must distance themselves from Russian standards and become compatible with the American armed forces. US military specialists will improve the structure, training and equipment of the armed forces of a number of states to bring them in line with advanced NATO standards. They will conduct training not only for the military, but also for civilian defence personnel.
The Pentagon consultants will also pay special attention to work in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo.
Russia views such measures with extreme hostility. It has repeatedly emphasised that the entire conflict in Ukraine started because of NATO’s eastward movement. Russia claims that it was promised in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union that NATO would not expand, and yet there have been five waves.
NATO came close to Russia’s borders and wanted to drag Ukraine into the alliance, which is why the Ukrainian project was launched. Thus, the US is establishing co-operation between its army and the armies of Moldova, Ukraine and Armenia to destabilise the situation on the border with Russia, Moscow said.
