NATO is determined to get Russia to take steps to de-escalate tensions around Ukraine. This was announced on Wednesday, April 14, by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at a press conference at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Alliance.
“All 30 participants expressed this concern and demonstrated a determined commitment to Russia taking steps to de-escalate the tension it creates,” he quoted TASS as saying.
On the same day, Blinken, at a meeting in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, agreed that the alliance should continue to support Ukraine. In addition, they talked about “an aggressive build-up of military power along the borders of Ukraine and in the occupied Crimea.”
In turn, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova stressed that NATO is inciting official Kiev to continue the conflict in Donbass. According to her, the alliance does not express concern about what is happening in eastern Ukraine.
On April 13, Stoltenberg said that the alliance is on the side of Ukraine, the allies are providing support so that it can further ensure its own security.
On April 11, the US Secretary of State announced the White House’s concerns about the fact that “more Russian forces are concentrated on the border between Russia and Ukraine than at any time since 2014”.
Since 2014, Kiev has been conducting a military operation against the residents of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities blame Russia for the current situation. Moscow has repeatedly noted that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict. The issues of its settlement are being discussed in the “Minsk” and “Normandy” formats – with the participation of Ukraine, Russia, France, Germany.