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Kremlin talks about war threat in Ukraine, US warns Russia

Kremlin

Ukrainian and Western officials have worried in the past few years about a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine, fearing it could be a prelude to an invasion. Moscow insists it has no such intentions, even so, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov there could be serious consequences. As reported by the AP:

The probability of hostilities in Ukraine still remains high, as the situation continues to grow into a powder keg

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin voiced concern Thursday about a possible escalation of fighting in a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine as the U.S. issued a strong warning to Russia to stay away from Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meet on the sidelines of an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting, in Stockholm, Sweden, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. (Jonathan Nackstrand/Pool Photo via AP)

Ukrainian and Western officials have worried about a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine, fearing it could herald an invasion. But Moscow has insisted it has no such intention and accused Ukraine and its Western backers of making up the claims to cover up their own allegedly aggressive designs.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at their meeting in Stockholm on Thursday that “if the Kremlin decides to pursue confrontation in Ukraine, there will be serious consequences,” adding that “the best way to avert a crisis is through diplomacy.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that “the Ukrainian authorities’ aggressive and increasingly intensive provocative action on the line of contact” gives grounds for concern about a possible flare-up of hostilities. He said that recent statements from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials indicate that “the Ukrainian leadership doesn’t exclude a forceful scenario.”

“The probability of hostilities in Ukraine still remains high,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a ceremony to receive credentials from foreign ambassadors in Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (Grigory Sysoev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-proclaimed separatist republic in Donetsk, said on Russian state television that he could turn to Moscow for military assistance if the region faces a Ukrainian attack.

Ukrainian officials have denied an intention to reclaim the rebel regions by force, despite claims by the Kremlin.

Russia’s top domestic security agency, the FSB, announced Thursday it has arrested three Ukrainian men accused of spying and plotting an explosion.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted after meeting with Blinken in Stockholm that “we are closely working together on developing a comprehensive deterrence package, including severe economic sanctions, to demotivate Russia from further aggressive moves.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meet on the sidelines of an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting, in Stockholm, Sweden, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. (Jonathan Nackstrand/Pool Photo via AP)

Kuleba also talked with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell about “the need to deter Russia and speed up work on specific economic restrictions which will be able to hit the Russian economy should Moscow decide to launch a new stage of aggression against Ukraine.”

The top Ukrainian diplomat noted that the EU Council has approved €31 million in material and technical assistance for strengthening the Ukrainian armed forces’ capability in the spheres of medicine, engineering, demining activities, mobility, logistics and cybersecurity. “We highly appreciate this step which reaffirms the strategic Ukraine-EU relations,” he said.

Ex-Soviet neighbors Russia and Ukraine have remained locked in a tense tug-of-war since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 following the ouster of the country’s Kremlin-friendly president and threw its weight behind a separatist insurgency in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, known as the Donbas. More than 14,000 people have died in the fighting.

Russia
FILE – In this Sept. 3, 2021, file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he delivers his speech during a plenary session at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia. The embattled opposition groups admit the Kremlin has left them few options and resources ahead of the Sept. 19 election that is widely seen as a key to Putin’s effort to cement his hold on power. But they still hope to erode the dominance of the ruling United Russia party in the State Duma, or parliament. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned NATO against deploying its troops and weapons to Ukraine, saying it represents a red line for Russia and would trigger a strong response. He said Wednesday that Moscow would seek Western guarantees precluding any further NATO expansion and deployment of its weapons near Russia’s borders.

Blinken said “we have deep concerns about Russia’s plans for renewed aggression against Ukraine,” adding that “it’s a concern that is shared by many in Europe.” He was speaking during a meeting with Lavrov on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Stockholm.

Blinken reaffirmed that the U.S. has “a strong, ironclad commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

Referring to a 2015 peace agreement for eastern Ukraine brokered by France and Germany and signed in Minsk, Belarus, Blinken called for a “full implementation of the Minsk agreements with Russia pulling back its forces.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pose for photographers on the occasion of their meeting on the sidelines of an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting, in Stockholm, Sweden, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. (Jonathan Nackstrand/Pool Photo via AP)

Addressing the OSCE meeting, Blinken urged Russia “to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity to de-escalate, reverse the recent troop buildup, return forces to normal peaceful positions, and to implement the Minsk commitments.”

“It takes two to tango, and if – if our Russian friends are prepared to implement their commitments under Minsk and our Ukrainian friends are as well, we will fully support that, and that is the best way to avert a renewed crisis in Ukraine,” Blinken said.

Moscow says it’s not a party to the deal between Ukraine and self-proclaimed separatist regions, and denies Ukrainian and Western assertions of sending its troops and weapons into eastern Ukraine.

In his speech at the OSCE meeting, Lavrov urged Ukraine to abide by its obligation with the Minsk agreement that envisages a broad autonomy for the rebel regions, warning that Kyiv’s refusal to honor it is a “way toward a catastrophe.”

He also warned Biden at their meeting that “any further NATO expansion eastward undoubtedly compromises our core security interests.”

The top Russian diplomat charged that the West is “playing with fire” when it argues that Russia doesn’t have a say in NATO’s expansion plans.

Biden
FILE – Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a photo opportunity with Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu at the State Department, Nov. 8, 2021, in Washington. The Biden administration is stepping up pressure on Russia over a buildup of troops along its frontier with Ukraine. As Blinken prepared to meet his Ukrainian counterpart in Washington on Wednesday, the top U.S. diplomat for Europe said the administration is watching the border situation closely and would regard any escalation with deep concern. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool, File)

“I want to make it crystal clear: turning our neighbors into a bridgehead for confrontation with Russia, the deployment of NATO forces in the regions strategically important for our security is categorically unacceptable,” he told the OSCE meeting.

Lavrov followed up on Putin’s call for a new security arrangement, stating that reaching an agreement on a set of “long-term and legally binding security guarantees is imperative to prevent sliding into a confrontational scenario.”

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV

Jan M. Olsen contributed to this report from Copenhagen, Denmark, Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report.

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