Ahead of talks with Russia over the Ukraine situation, NATO has warned that Russia will pay a heavy price if it invades Ukraine. “NATO will exchange views with Russia in good faith and substantively,” said Secretary General Stoltenberg. “But we also need to be prepared for the possibility of the negotiations failing.” In what way Russia will pay a price, Stoltenberg did not say.
Russia has gathered some 100,000 heavily armed soldiers on the border with Ukraine. The Kremlin says it does not want to invade Ukraine, but demands in threatening language that the Western alliance withdraw almost all its troops and weapons from Eastern Europe. It also wants a guarantee that Ukraine, Georgia, Sweden and Finland will never join NATO.
NATO takes the position that Russia is not about that. Stoltenberg reiterated today that NATO will not designate “second class allies” that cannot be defended.
On Monday, American and Russian diplomats and military personnel will meet in Geneva to discuss tensions over Ukraine. On Wednesday, Russia will meet with NATO in Brussels.
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