Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/14/russia-threatens-latin-america-troop-deployments-amid-us-tensions
On January 13th, 2022, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated that he cannot ‘confirm nor exclude’ the possibility of Russia sending military assets to different parts of Latin America if the United States and its allies don’t cut down their military activities in Ukraine. This refusal to rule out military deployments to Cuba and Venezuela comes after tensions between the West and Russia/Ukraine. After hearing these statements, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan dismissed the statements about the Russian deployment, citing it as a ‘bluster in the public commentary’. US-Russia talks in Geneva, as well as a NATO-Russia meeting, led to Western fears of an invasion. However, Russia denies any plans to make an attack.
My take on the article is that it is obvious that Ukrainian-Russian tensions are rising, with the United States becoming more present in the conflict. Since President Putin has begun to warn the US about military measures coming in the future, I think it is important that the US is careful with its next movements during this time. Also, I think that Cuba and Venezuela need to be careful as well so that the military is continued to be deployed when needed. Since NATO and Russian negotiators have been talking about further arms control, I think it is important that any lingering hostilities be contained.
This article relates to class because it discusses the relations between Russia and Ukraine, which is an ongoing discussion we’ve been having. Learning about the border conflict and the US’s part in it has been interesting, and I thought this article was a great segway into learning more information about how Latin America could possibly be involved. Another way this article relates to class is the discussion of NATO.