“No one should be surprised if Russia instigates a provocation or incident, then tries to use it to justify military intervention, hoping that by the time the world realizes the ruse, it’ll be too late,” Blinken told reporters. “The idea that Ukraine is the aggressor in this situation is absurd.”
Blinken’s warning follows a virtual meeting of NATO foreign ministers discussing the array of Russian forces along the Ukrainian border, whose marshaling is perceived as a menace to Ukraine and the Western security bloc.
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“The risk of conflict is real,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Friday. “Russia’s aggressive actions seriously undermine the security order in Europe. NATO remains committed to our dual-track approach to Russia: strong deterrence and defense combined with meaningful dialogue.”
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Russia’s demand that North American and Western European members of NATO stop their security relationship with the countries that joined the alliance after the collapse of the Soviet Union has put more weight on whether Putin’s threats can be managed without violence.
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“There's no way NATO can compromise on the principle of the right of every nation to choose its own path,” Stoltenberg said. “We can not end up in a situation where we have kind of second-class NATO members, where NATO as an alliance is not allowed to protect them in the same way as to protect all the allies.”
“What's happening in Ukraine is not only about Ukraine. It's part of a broader pattern of destabilizing, dangerous, and often illegal behavior by Moscow as it tries to build a sphere of influence that covers the countries that were once under Soviet dominion,” Blinken said. “Let's remember that over the past two decades, Russia invaded two neighboring countries — Ukraine and Georgia — and maintained troops in munitions in Moldova against the will of the government.”
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The next meeting could give Blinken’s team a chance to scout for strategies of compromise, though European officials are uneasy about such talks.
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President Biden’s team is “compiling a list of options for force posture changes in Europe to discuss with Russia at the talks,” an administration official told NBC News.
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“We would far prefer a diplomatic path and a diplomatic solution to a crisis that Russia has brought forth,” Blinken said. "We believe that there are areas where we can make progress if Russia has legitimate concerns about our actions ... But again, it has to be a two-way street.”
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