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15 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 16 FEBRUARY 2022 EUROPE NATO'S top official cast doubt Tuesday on a Russian claim that it had begun pulling some forces away from Ukraine's borders, saying Moscow still has enough firepower assembled to launch a cross-border invasion on short notice. "So far, we have not seen any de-escalation on the ground," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said ahead of two days of high-level talks at alliance head- quarters in Brussels. "We have not seen any signs of reduced Russian military presence on the border of Ukraine." US Ambassador to NATO Ju- lianne Smith shared Stoltenberg's skepticism. "All we have seen unfortunately is escalation," Smith told reporters in Brussels. On Tuesday, Russian military officials announced some troops from its southern and western military districts near the Ukrain- ian border were returning to their garrisons. Stoltenberg, however, said mov- ing troops around is routine and doesn't affect Russia's ability to attack. "Russia often moves troops back and forth," Stoltenberg said. "What we need to see is a signif- icant and enduring withdrawal of forces, troops and not least the heavy equipment." However, Stoltenberg did say re- cent statements from Russian offi- cials about continuing diplomatic talks focused on Ukraine were grounds for "cautious optimism" going forward. Today, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other alliance leaders will arrive in Brussels, where they are expected to review plans for adding troops in south- eastern Europe. Among the steps likely to gain the backing of allies is a plan to set up a French-led mul- tinational battlegroup in Romania. Romania and other nations in the Black Sea region have called for more alliance attention along NATO's southern flank in connec- tion with concerns about Russia's nearby military presence. In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean Pen- insula, which is part of Ukraine's southern Black Sea border. Russia has boosted its naval pres- ence in the Mediterranean and Black seas in recent weeks, while massing more than 130,000 troops around Ukraine along with tanks, artillery and rocket systems, ac- cording to U.S. officials and satel- lite imagery. "NATO allies have been very clear that any further Russian ag- gression against Ukraine would come at a high price," Stoltenberg said. President Joe Biden has ruled out any direct role for the U.S. military inside Ukraine in response to any possible Russian attack. Still, the Pentagon has deployed additional troops to Europe in a move de- signed to reassure allies worried about potential Russian aggression beyond Ukraine. The first of some 5,000 U.S.- based troops are now taking up positions in Poland. Meanwhile, 1,000 Germany-based U.S. sol- diers have shifted to Romania to reinforce allied defenses. No sign yet of Russian pullback from Ukraine border, NATO says SEBASTIAN VASSALLO THE leader of the centre-right European People's Party said Russian president Vladimir Putin feared Ukraine suc- ceeding in becoming a democratic state, and the effects this would have on his system of oligarchy back home. Manfred Weber was fielding questions in a press brief- ing on Tuesday, where he expressed strong support for Ukraine's sovereignty and rejected claims that the West was provoking Putin's actions on the border of Ukraine. "What scares Vladimir Putin the most is not NATO sol- diers in Ukraine – it is not a part of NATO or the EU currently. What scares Putin is seeing Ukraine succeed as a democratic state... the real threat to Putin are issues of fundamental values, rule of law, and democracy." Weber said Putin's "dictatorship" was a system of oligar- chy that went against the idea of freedom. Weber insisted that Ukraine's purported membership of NATO was not on the table, given that prospective mem- bers cannot join if they are not a functioning democracy and if there is internal conflict. "Russia cannot say that we are inviting and encourag- ing this, because that's not the case," Weber said. "It's not a question of Ukraine joining or not joining NATO, be- cause that is not currently on the table. The real issue is of 44 million people living under the threat, under the fear that tomorrow a war can start on their territory." Weber restated the importance of respecting the dem- ocratic opinion of the Ukrainian people, pointing to the country's aspirations for EU membership, which are also written into the Ukrainian constitution. "It's not Putin who decides for Ukraine: that is the ba- sic point of all our debates. This is not up for discussion or negotiation or compromise," Weber said. "When they decide, we will know based on the votes." Weber was queried on how Putin's reaction to Ukraine's prospective NATO membership was any different from the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when Russia accepted to withdraw its missile deployment in Cuba. The EPP leader said the geopolitics of the 1960s were incomparable to the realities of the day, and said the EU did not view Ukraine in terms of zones of influence. "That is over, that was the old Europe. The new Europe is that people voluntarily decide in a democratic competition in which direction they want to go." Weber said he had no choice but to stand with Ukrain- ians: "During the Maidan revolution, I had conversations with youths who told me they simply want the right to a fair trail that is not influenced by oligarchs... I have no choice but to stand with my Ukrainian friends." Manfred Weber: Ukraine stand-off incomparable to 1962 Cuba missile crisis NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg answers a question from a reporter at the organization's headquarters in Brussels yesterday, a day before US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other allied defense ministers are to meet there to discuss Russia's military buildup around Ukraine