March 2, 2024 (EIRNS)—There is coverage in the Western media of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments in his Address to the Federal Assembly, including the New York Times, which takes note of French President Emmanuel Macron’s threat to put Western troops on the ground in Ukraine, (falsely) claiming it was rejected by the West in general, and then goes on to dismiss what Putin said: “Mr. Putin has repeatedly made veiled nuclear threats against the West since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, seeking to leverage Russia’s enormous nuclear arsenal to deter Europe and the United States from supporting Ukraine.”
The Deputy Secretary General of NATO Romania’s Mircea Geoană told Spain’s El País that Putin was just bluffing. Politico’s coverage carries the headline “Putin’s Bluffing on Nukes (for Now), Says Top NATO Official.” They quote Geoană: “We do not see any imminent threat of Russia using these weapons.” Putin’s speech was “a discourse that delves into the logic of psychological intimidation rather than real intentions.… But these statements are in themselves very dangerous, because they erode trust. Russia knows the consequences of taking such a step.”
Geoană added that NATO would “continue to make sure that we support Ukraine and avoid escalation with Russia.” On Macron’s boots-on-the-ground proposal, he said: “We fully respect the right of our allies to bring new ideas to the table. But we at NATO have no intention or plans to deploy troops to Ukraine.”
