TEHRAN- Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, has denounced reports of U.S. plans to deploy thousands of extra troops near Russian borders saying “the hysteria of the White House is more revealing than ever. The Anglo-Saxons need a war. At any price”, amid escalating tensions over Ukraine. 

Maria Zakharova says “provocations, disinformation and threats” are the preference of both America and it’s allies to solve problems. 

Zakharova added that “a roller of the American military-political machine is ready to go through people’s lives again. The whole world is watching how militarism and imperial ambitions expose themselves”. 

The statements by the Russian official comes as reports have emerged of the Pentagon plans to send an additional 3,000 troops to Eastern Europe.

The troops will (according to an anonymous American official who spoke to reporters ahead of an official announcement) link up with the thousands of soldiers already stationed in the region.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has also issued a statement that says Moscow has been the subject of a coordinated well planned media attack, aimed at discrediting Moscow’s “rightful demands for security guarantees and at justifying Western geopolitical aspirations”. 

The ministry says that since late 2021 and early 2022, the global information space witnessed a media campaign of unprecedented scope and sophistication, aimed at convincing the global community that Russia was plotting an invasion of Ukraine.

It also say items and articles that have been published as part of the information war campaign saying "this dossier brings together some of the most scandalous fake news items, published by Western media”

“They serve as an evidence of a well-coordinated information attack against Moscow, aimed at undermining and discrediting Russia’s rightful demands for security guarantees and at justifying Western geopolitical aspirations and its military development of the Ukrainian territory”. 

"One can even say Western governments and media have conspired with each other, with the goal of fuelling contrived tensions around Ukraine, through a massive and well-coordinated release of false information, carried out for political reasons and aimed, among other things, at distracting attention from their own aggressive actions”

U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have held a phone conversation; which Moscow stated came at the request of Washington. 

Prior to the call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters 
"Indeed, the U.S. side requested a conversation with President Putin, and the talks of the two presidents are planned to take place on Saturday in the evening”

Since October last year, the U.S. and some of its allies have been claiming that Russia is preparing to attack Ukraine; allegations which Moscow has rejected outright and dismissed as “fake news”. 

The U.S. and NATO are currently at loggerheads with Russia over the real prospect of membership for Ukraine in the western military alliance. 

The West insists that Ukraine should be allowed to join NATO, while Russia says this would expand the North Atlantic Alliance’s missiles and troops on its doorsteps which Moscow considers as an unacceptable security risk. 

The Kremlin has maintained its opposition to the eastward expansion of NATO since the end of the Cold War, when the west promised not to admit former Warsaw Pact nations into the alliance, a promise the West would later go on to break. 

In an exclusive interview with Russian news outlet RT, Dmitry Lyubinsky, Russia’s ambassador to Austria, stresses that the West is sending military aid to Ukraine without considering what this could lead to.

He says “right now they are burying Ukraine in tons of different weapons, American planes are flying from different countries. When you ask, are you sure about who will be in control of this weaponry and its deployment? you get no answer”.

Russia has sent proposals to the U.S. and NATO to diffuse the tensions by offering security guarantees to Moscow. The responses so far have been very far from meeting Moscow’s main and most serious security requests. 

Analysts say the West is acting aggressively and ruthlessly with Russia to try and force Moscow to back down from all its demands; despite the seriousness of the situation. 

Western media are beating the drums of war with headlines citing an imminent “Russian invasion of Ukraine”. Some have even set an actual date for invasion despite the dates American media had set before didn’t materialize as planned. 

Nevertheless the situation remains tense unless there is a diplomatic solution to the matter; with the West installing more armaments in Ukraine and on Russia’s border. 

Observers also say Russia has been seeking a change to the security apparatus in Europe since the end of the Cold War. 

Russia has voiced strong opposition to the waves of NATO expansion towards its borders that began in the 1990s.

Since 1990, Moscow has seen NATO rolling its tanks eastwards towards Russian borders by around a thousand kilometers. 

The geo-strategic shift that has occurred essentially means about half of Europe that was part of the Soviet Union slowly dissolved and joined NATO. 

The Kremlin has accepted this in a diplomatic manner despite assurances and promises from the U.S. and NATO that it would not expand eastwards towards Russia. 

In essence, being a NATO member means the expansion of NATO troops and weapons in the NATO member state which is why Ukraine’s membership of NATO is a red line for Russia. 

With fighting between Russian separatist rebels in Eastern Ukraine and forces loyal to the government in Kiev; Moscow has concerns that Ukraine will use the pretext of the conflict to win the territory back from the separatist rebels with the backing of NATO. 

This has led to speculation and strong concern of a false flag attack in Ukraine that could trigger a major conflict.

Which may explain why Zakharova says “we are making a conclusion that American and British colleagues are possibly aware of certain violent actions prepared in Ukraine that can seriously undermine security”. 

She added that “fearing possible provocations by Kiev or third countries, we have indeed made a decision about some optimization of the staff at our missions in Ukraine”. 

Also according to analysts, Russia has also deployed some troops within its own border (the numbers of which have been exaggerated by the West) and it has conducted military maneuvers to show it is serious and is seeking a comprehensive conversation on the best way forward to get legal assurances of a halt to NATO’s further expansion. 

That means no Ukraine, no Georgia, no Moldova in NATO. 

Some experts say Russian military officials are said to be okay with having a belt of neutral countries between Russia and NATO. That means countries aligned with the West (so long as they that they don’t join the Western alliance) as well as countries that are aligned with Moscow. 

The West has to be prepared to negotiate this, and experts say they would be negotiating good deals not just for NATO and Russia but also for all the countries stuck in the middle.

For that to happen NATO must drop it’s mentality of an open door to membership and expansion. 

Neither can the United States violate prior agreements and continue moving the goal posts as it wishes. 

A diplomatic solution is the only way forward to end the escalating crisis.