As war games begin, Putin lauds Russian diplomacy: Live news | Ukraine-Russia crisis News
As Russia and Ukraine began military exercises, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his diplomats and underscored his demand for “legally enforceable security guarantees” from the United States and its NATO allies.
In a statement issued to Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday, Putin said he was confident the department would continue to “do everything possible to strengthen Russia’s positions on the world stage” while warning of increasing global turbulence and tension.
Putin’s remarks coincided with Russia and Belarus launching joint military drills. The military exercises, which will run until February 20, mark the latest point of contention between Moscow and the West over Ukraine, which has denounced the manoeuvres as “psychological pressure”.
Ukraine’s army is conducting drills in the same period in response to the Russian exercises.
The war games come amid heightened diplomatic attempts to avert a feared Russian invasion, with officials of France, Ukraine, Russia and Germany and the United Kingdom meeting on Thursday.
Russia denies it is planning an attack, but Western nations and Kyiv have been spooked by Moscow’s massing of more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine.
Here are the latest updates:
Ukraine invasion would be disastrous, UK warns Russia
The United Kingdom’s foreign minister has again warned Moscow that an invasion of Ukraine would be disastrous for Russia, Ukraine, and Europe, and would carry severe costs.
“Fundamentally, a war in Ukraine would be disastrous for the Russian and Ukrainian people and for European security and together NATO has made it clear that any incursion into Ukraine would have massive consequences and carry severe costs,” Liz Truss told her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, during a visit to Moscow.
French FM expresses hope Russia will continue talks
Russia being willing to continue four-way diplomatic talks on the conflict in eastern Ukraine would be a positive signal from the discussions in Berlin, France’s foreign minister has said.
Speaking to France Inter radio, Jean-Yves Le Drian said the general situation was extremely worrying. He also denounced the joint Russia-Belarus military exercises as “a very violent gesture”.
Putin praises Russian diplomacy, stresses need for security guarantees
Putin has praised Russia’s diplomats for their “duty” in a statement issued to his country’s foreign ministry.
“Our diplomacy helps to defend the legitimate rights of Russian citizens and compatriots abroad, contributes to the settlement of regional conflicts and crises, and most importantly, plays an important role in creating favourable external conditions for the progressive development of the country,” Putin said.
But, he warned, the world was “becoming more and more turbulent and tense”, in an apparent reference to the East-West standoff over Ukraine.
“This, of course, requires additional persistent efforts to ensure strategic stability and [to] counteract emerging threats and challenges, first of all, by seeking comprehensive, legally enforceable security guarantees for our country from the United States and its NATO allies,” Putin said.
‘Psychological pressure’: Zelenskyy denounces Russia-Belarus drills
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has denounced the war games launched by Russia and Belarus.
“The accumulation of forces at the border is psychological pressure from our neighbours. We see nothing new here,” Zelenskyy’s office quoted him as telling a group of European business leaders in Kyiv on Wednesday.
“The risks are there and have been there since 2014,” he said in reference to the year Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and then backed separatist rebels as they seized swaths of territory in the country’s eastern industrial heartland.
