Brussels, Europe Brief News – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today that despite “signs from Moscow” that diplomacy should continue, there was no sign of de-escalation on the ground at Russia-Ukraine border.
“Allies welcome all the diplomatic efforts and there are signs from Moscow that the diplomacy should continue. But so far, we do not see any sign of de-escalation on the ground. No withdrawals of troops or equipment. This may of course change,” he said at a press briefing following a summit of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.
Calling the tensions between Russia and Ukraine “the most serious security crisis in Europe in decades,” Stoltenberg said that NATO remains prepared for dialogue and that it is not too late for Russia to “step back from the brink of conflict and choose the path of peace.”
“NATO is not a threat to Russia,” he added.
“What we see is that Russia maintains a massive invasion force ready to attack with high-end capabilities from. Crimea to Belarus. This is the biggest concentration of forces in Europe since the Cold War,” the NATO chief said.
Earlier today, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed similar comments, saying that the US is not seeing evidence that Russia is pulling back troops from the border of Ukraine, despite Russian claims.
“Unfortunately, there’s a difference between what Russia says and what it does. And what we’re seeing is no meaningful pullback,” Blinken said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
