NATO held an emergency meeting of foreign ministers on Friday to discuss Russia’s military build-up on its border with Ukraine.
In a video call, the ministers also discussed Russia and “broader European security issues,” according to a statement. The meeting took place just days before the NATO-Russia Council, which will be attended by Russian officials, on January 12, a meeting announced by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg last month.
Tensions between Moscow and the West have risen in recent months, and US officials have warned that Moscow could plan a full-scale invasion of its neighbor, with more than 100,000 troops on the border.
Leading EU diplomat Josep Borrell is currently in Ukraine for a two-day visit that includes a trip to the Eastern Front, where Russian-backed separatists are fighting Ukrainian government forces.
The two NATO meetings are linked, an alliance official said. NATO’s teleconference on Friday “is part of the ongoing coordination between NATO security allies in Europe, as a result of Russia’s military build-up in and around Ukraine. “The meeting is also an opportunity to consider the forthcoming sequence of commitments with Russia, including the NATO-Russia Council on January 12.”
Moscow, concerned about Western rearmament of Ukraine, has said it wants legal guarantees from NATO on arms development and eastern expansion.
There are a number of other meetings scheduled between Western powers and Russia to try to defuse tensions.
Moscow will hold talks with Ukraine, Germany and France on Thursday in the form of the so-called Normandy, Russia’s state-run Interfax news agency reported on Monday. US and Russian officials will also hold security talks Monday in Geneva.
The NATO-Russia Council will take place on 12 January, ahead of a wider meeting on 13 January with the participation of the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which includes the United States and its NATO allies. as well as Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and other former Soviet states.
https://www.politico.eu/
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