Maximum caution by NATO and the United States of America on the rocket that hit a village in eastern Poland yesterday, killing two people.
The world trembled for a few hours, but while waiting for an in-depth investigation to clarify the origin of the missile, the activation of NATO's article 5, which would inevitably lead to a dramatic extension of the conflict, has for the moment been averted .
Joe Biden , after the emergency meeting in Bali with the allies, said it was " improbable " that the missile that fell in Poland originated from Russia: "This - he specified - is due to the analysis of the trajectory but I don't want say that a real investigation into the incident has already been completed.
Furthermore, the US President told the G7 leaders that according to some indications, an anti-aircraft missile from Ukraine could have hit eastern Poland, to be precise a missile of the S-300 system.
And the NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg himself affirms: " The preliminary results of the investigations say that the accident was caused by a Ukrainian anti-air defense missile ", while emphasizing that Kiev " is not to blame " and that the accident it is in any case a consequence "of the Russian attacks". The Italian premier Giorgia Meloni shares the same opinion.
That said, " there is no evidence of a deliberate attack on Ukraine " and therefore there is no reason to activate Article 5 of the Atlantic Pact. NATO also excludes the no fly zone in Ukraine : "We are not an active part of the conflict, but we provide support to Kiev, which has the right to defend itself against aggression".
«WAIT FOR THE INVESTIGATIONS»
Erdogan also invokes prudence: "We must not insist on the fact that the missile was launched by Russia, it would be a provocation", he said in Bali, recalling the words of Moscow which says it "has nothing to do" and evoking the possibility of a " technical error ".
" We must bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table as soon as possible , peace can only come from dialogue, we are working hard for this, as soon as I get back I'll be on the phone with Putin," added the Turkish president.
France also urged "maximum caution", underlining that "identifying the type of missile will not necessarily identify who is behind it". The German chancellor Olaf Scholz and the British prime minister Rishi Sunak share the same opinion, underlining the need to wait for the results of the investigation.
DUDA: «THERE IS NO EVIDENCE»
In Poland, the army was alerted but President Andrzej Duda himself said that "there is no unequivocal evidence" about who fired the missile, the origin of which has been investigated. And Warsaw for now has not even invoked article 4 of NATO , which provides that "the parties consult each other whenever, in the opinion of one of them, the integrity, political independence or security of one of the parties is threatened" .
MOSCOW: «KIEV WANTS TO CAUSE A CLASH WITH NATO»
Moscow for its part positively underlines Washington's "measured reaction" , but goes on the attack: the news circulated last night, said Russia's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Dmtry Polyansky, was an attempt to " provoke a confrontation direct military relationship between NATO and Russia, with consequences for the entire planet ». It is, added Polyansky, a " provocation by the Kiev regime ".
NATO AND G7 CONDEMN THE RUSSIAN ATTACKS
However, the leaders of the G7 and NATO condemned the " barbaric missile attacks that Russia perpetrated on Tuesday on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure ", reiterating their "firm support for Ukraine in the face of continued Russian aggression".
We have discussed the explosion in Poland, we offer our full support and assistance to the ongoing investigation and we remain in close contact to determine next steps as the investigation progresses.
KIEV INSISTS: "IT WAS THE RUSSIANS"
But Kiev does not give up. « The missile attack in Poland is a real message from Russia to the G20, among you there is a terrorist state », thundered President Zelensky in a video speech broadcast to the G20 in Bali, which was also attended by Russia itself represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Ukraine is also asking for "immediate access" to the place where the missile fell. "We are in favor of a joint study of the incident. We are ready to hand over any evidence we have of the Russian trail . Ukraine demands that representatives of the Defense Ministry and the State Border Guard Service be granted immediate access to the blast site,” said Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security Council.
ITALIAN-POLISH COMPANY HIT
The farm hit yesterday by the missile that fell in Przewodow belongs to an Italian-Polish company. The two men who died following the explosion, aged 50 and 60, were employees of the same Agricom company. The company has been operating on the site since the 1990s and manages 800 hectares mainly of wheat and corn.
(Unioneonline/L)