NATO lands 'massive' forces near Russian border, member state reveals 'shock' in US-NATO-EU relation

On April 23, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu gave a detailed figure for NATO reinforcements near the border of the Russian Federation.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Lavrov said NATO troops were massing forces near the country's borders. (Source: Reuters) Sputnik quoted Shoigu as saying at the Russian Defense Ministry Council meeting: "Currently, the NATO reinforcement group on our borders amounts to 33,000 people, about 300 tanks and more than 800 other armored fighting vehicles."

What if NATO is without the US? Meanwhile, in Germany, the headquarters of the "Security Support Group for Ukraine" has been established on the basis of the headquarters of the US armed forces in the European region. In addition, he noted: "A series of exercises by NATO's joint armed forces are currently taking place. Up to 90,000 people are taking part in the practice of repelling Russia's supposedly imminent military action."

Separately, TASS reported that on April 22, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto assessed that, essentially, the United States, NATO and the European Union (EU) are competing for the right to coordinate military aid to Ukraine, thereby escalating the conflict with Russia and risking leading to World War III.

Al Mayadeen quoted Szijjarto's remarks to the Hungarian parliament as saying: "It is shocking to hear lawmakers in the EU see this as a competition over who will supply Ukraine with more weapons."

According to him, preparations for the conflict "are being intensified in the EU" instead of focusing on consolidating peace and finding diplomatic solutions.

The diplomat recalled that the U.S. House of Representatives finally passed a bill on a new $61 billion military aid package for Ukraine, noting that the EU considered plans to supply Kyiv with new weapons and billions of euros during the Foreign and Defense Ministers' Meeting in Luxembourg on April 22. Szijjarto said: "Preparations for a new world war must be stopped

China Warns U.S. Against Renewing Aid to Taiwan

China warned the United States to abide by its pledge not to support Taiwan independence shortly after its Senate approved billions of dollars in aid to Taipei.

According to Bloomberg News, on the morning of March 24, Chinese government Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Zhou Fenglian voiced opposition to the US Senate approving billions of dollars in aid to Taiwan to "counter China in the Indo-Pacific region."

Zhou stated, "We vehemently oppose Taiwan-related content in the bill just passed by the U.S. Congress. That sends the wrong signal to separatist forces in Taiwan.

We ask the U.S. side to fulfill its commitment not to support Taiwan independence with concrete actions and to stop supplying Taiwan with arms in any way."

The announcement came hours after the US Senate passed a $95 billion security bill earlier in the day. The bill combines four smaller bills that passed the House on April 21 and sent to the Senate for consideration and approval. Two of the bills are $2 billion in multifaceted assistance to Taiwan and $1.9 billion to help the island bolster its arsenal.

US President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law the bill as soon as April 24 (US time). The passage of the security bill by the US Congress comes amid rising tensions between Beijing and Washington. At noon on April 24, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to Beijing to try to defuse tensions. During his trip, Blinken will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and may speak directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The issues expected to be discussed are Beijing's claims to the South China Sea, the US accusation that China supports Russia in its war in Ukraine as well as the Taiwan Strait issue.