Although Russia has begun to withdraw its troops from the borders of Ukraine, NATO does not yet see signs of de-escalation in Donbas.
This was stated by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg before the ministerial meeting in Brussels, writes Evropeyska Pravda.
"And we have heard the signs from Moscow about readiness to continue diplomatic efforts. But so far, we have not seen any de-escalation on the ground. On the contrary, it appears that Russia continues the military build-up," Stoltenberg said.
According to him, the message and the signs we heard from Moscow yesterday provide some grounds for cautious optimism because that was a message about diplomacy. At the same time, so far, the Russian Federation is not taking any real steps in this direction.
"At the same time, we have not seen any withdrawal of Russian forces. That contradicts the message of real diplomatic efforts. It remains to be seen whether there is a Russian withdrawal. We are monitoring very closely what Russia does in and around Ukraine. They have increased the number of troops and more troops are on their way. So far, there is no de-escalation. But we hear the message about diplomacy and we are ready to engage in diplomatic efforts with Russia," Stoltenberg said.
NATO Secretary-General also mentioned that they have not received any response to the written document, written proposals, that NATO sent to Russia on the 26th of January. However, NATO Allies are ready to sit down and discuss with Russia and to try to find a political path forward.
“We will continue to convey a very clear message to Russia that we are ready to sit down and discuss with them. But at the same time, we are prepared for the worst. And if Russia once again invades Ukraine, they will pay a high price. And we will continue to expose Russia’s plans and actions to make it harder for them to conduct aggressive actions against Ukraine. But we really hope that Russia will engage in meaningful dialogue and choose diplomacy instead of confrontation. And we are ready to sit down and find a political solution,” the message reads.
As Apostrophe reported, earlier U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Russia's further aggression against Ukraine is possible, "starting this week."