US Plans On Boosting Military Presence In Mideast Signal War Provocation -Russia's Ryabkov

Washington's plans to build up its military presence in the Middle East as means of putting pressure on Iran can only be seen as intention to provoke war in the region, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2019) Washington's plans to build up its military presence in the middle East as means of putting pressure on Iran can only be seen as intention to provoke war in the region, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday.

"Now, when we are witnessing continuing US attempts to increase political, psychological, economic and military pressure on Iran, such actions are quite provocative, I think. They cannot be viewed otherwise than a policy to provoke a war," Ryabkov told reporters.

According to the diplomat, Moscow assumes that Washington has not yet made final decision on sending additional forces to the region, but if it does, the move will increase risk of regional tensions.

"Firstly, we suppose that the final decision on the format of possible extra deployments of US forces to the region has not been made yet, as there are only preliminary leaks and some public signals ... This is a matter of serious concern for us. Not only because concentration of large forces and equipment increases risk of clashes and some undesirable aggravations, but also from the point of view of our lack of a clear understanding of what Washington is heading towards," the deputy minister said.

Ryabkov also noted that if Washington did not want to unleash a war with Iran, it must abandon its plans to increase military presence in the Middle East.