Amid fears of a possible incursion
NATO monitors Russian reinforcements on Ukraine's borders
NATO foreign ministers are preparing to hold their summit in Latvia.
AFP
The bloc is still not sure of Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions.
AFP
Jens Stoltenberg: "There is no clarity about Russian intentions, but there is an extraordinary build-up of forces for the second time this year."
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The foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) met yesterday to discuss a response to Russian military reinforcements at the border with Ukraine, amid concern that the Kremlin may be preparing for an incursion.
The meeting, which was held in Riga, the Latvian capital, came amid a tense atmosphere in the east of the alliance, and at a time when the allies are facing a refugee crisis that Western countries accuse Belarus, which is backed by the Kremlin, of orchestrating.
Western countries, led by the United States, fear that Moscow is planning an incursion into Ukraine, after accusing the Kremlin of massing its forces near the border.
"There is no clarity about Russian intentions, but there is an extraordinary build-up of forces for the second time this year," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told AFP during a visit to NATO forces in Latvia. Electronic warfare systems, and tens of thousands of combat-ready soldiers.”
Moscow, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and supports separatists in northern Ukraine, has vehemently denied it was planning an attack, blaming NATO for stoking tensions.
NATO diplomats say the bloc is still unsure of Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions, but ministers will discuss contingency plans in the event of an invasion by Russia.
The US-led "alliance" is trying to show the Kremlin that it will incur a heavy cost if Ukraine is threatened, but it has not provoked Moscow to launch a new aggression.
Officials expect that the talks will touch on providing additional support to the Ukrainian army, and the possibility of strengthening the bloc's forces deployed on the eastern bank of the alliance.
But they point out that Ukraine, which aspires to join the alliance, and whose foreign minister will participate in the two-day meeting, is not covered by the alliance's comprehensive defense treaty.
"We don't want to leave any doubt in people's minds that there will be dire consequences, strategic consequences for Russia, if it follows the path we fear it may be taking," a senior US official said. In fact, to stop the escalation, not to escalate.”
US President Joe Biden said Friday he would likely speak to the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to try to defuse escalating tensions.
hybrid attack
The rising concern over Ukraine comes at a time when NATO members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia face another threat from the east, which will be one of the main topics of discussion in Riga.
Those countries accuse Belarus of sending thousands of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, to its borders in a "hybrid attack", in response to European Union sanctions against Minsk. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko rejects these accusations.
NATO expressed "solidarity" with its members in the east, but refrained from direct intervention, given that the current threats do not rise to the level of actual aggression.
Polish President Andrzej Duda discussed strengthening the alliance's forces deployed in its eastern regions, during a meeting with Stoltenberg, last week, but he suspended an effort to launch emergency consultations under Article 4 of the treaty establishing the alliance, as it appears at the present time.
During a joint tour of the Baltic region last Sunday, Stoltenberg and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged to strengthen cooperation to tackle such challenges.
Border tension eased a bit, while some migrants began returning to Iraq, but Warsaw and Vilnius insist that the crisis is still far from over.
"There is no doubt that the Lukashenko regime and the forces that support it will continue to test the (solidity) of the unity of Western countries and their ability to respond," said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nosida.
• The US-led "NATO" seeks to show the Kremlin that it will incur a heavy cost in the event of a threat to Ukraine, but it has not provoked Moscow to carry out a new aggression.
• Moscow, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and supports separatists in northern Ukraine, strongly denies that it is planning an attack, and has blamed "NATO" for inflaming tensions.
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