US and NATO demand Russia to stop withdrawing troops from Ukraine / Article / LSM.lv

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned Russia to immediately stop withdrawing troops from Ukraine’s borders. In the meantime, US President Joe Biden has telephoned Russian leader Vladimir Putin and called for tensions to be eased.

“President Biden emphasized the strong support of the United States for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The President expressed our concern at the sudden increase in Russian troops in the occupied Crimea and at Ukraine’s borders. ” said in a White House statement.

This was the first phone call between U.S. and Russian leaders since Biden acknowledged in March that considers Putin a murderer without a soul.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, for his part, has announced the gathering of NATO troops at the Russian border, which is clearly directed against Russia.

The provocations must stop

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleb paid a visit to NATO Headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday. The seriousness of the situation is also reflected in the return of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Brussels. He is also scheduled to meet with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.

“When you ask me how far Russia can go, my answer is that I cannot rule out anything. But I really believe that we have all the tools at our disposal that not only prevent Russia from taking a step forward, but also force it to withdraw from the occupied territories. Ukrainian territories, “said Kuleba. “Ukraine will restore its sovereignty and its entire security space, and this part of the Euro-Atlantic region will be strengthened.”

The NATO Secretary General has promised that the Alliance will be ready to support Ukraine not only in words but also in deeds. NATO is ready to continue assisting with the training of Ukrainian soldiers, and the United States is also assisting Ukraine with arms supplies. The two sides have also discussed the possibility of new sanctions against the Kremlin, which would increase the price of Russian aggression.

“We are seriously concerned about the current state of play. NATO is following developments very closely,” Stoltenberg said.

“In recent weeks, Russia has moved thousands of combat-ready soldiers to the Ukrainian border. It is the largest gathering of troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. The significant increase in Russian troops is unjustified, unexplained and deeply worrying. Russia must stop gathering its troops around Ukraine. It must end its provocations and reduce tensions immediately. “

Biden offers to meet with Putin

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba, for his part, acknowledged that Ukraine was seeking international support to avoid the mistake that was made in 2014. Russia was then ready to act quickly to achieve its military goals in Crimea and Donbass, while Ukraine and its Western partners were still considering their response.

The Ukrainian representative expressed hope that no one would be surprised this time and that Ukraine’s friends in the West would be vigilant. Kuleba also stressed that Ukraine does not want a war with Russia.

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister also mentioned that Ukraine is looking forward to joining NATO, as promised to both Ukraine and Georgia during the 2008 Bucharest Summit. The Ukrainians believe that achieving this goal is only a matter of time, but the NATO Secretary General acknowledged that it will be a decision of all 30 NATO member states.

During talks with Putin, US President Joe Biden has offered to hold a meeting of the two leaders in the territory of a third country in the coming months. Biden proposes to discuss the most important issues in the relations between the two countries during the meeting.

CONTEXT:

In recent weeks, concerns about the situation in Eastern Ukraine have been significantly increased. At the end of March, Ukraine reported that Russia was concentrating its troops on the Ukrainian border and that Moscow-backed separatist militants were constantly violating last year’s ceasefire agreement.

In the spring of 2014, a conflict began in the eastern part of Ukraine. Soon after the Crimean Autonomous Region of Ukraine annexed by Russia. In February 2015 in Minsk with the participation of the leaders of Germany and France, as well as the President of Russia agreement has been reached on 13 points in the peace plan, which provided for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. Since then, both sides in the conflict have reported violations of the ceasefire from time to time.

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