Diplomats Try to Reduce Ukraine Tensions, Russia Holds Military Exercises
2022-02-11
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1British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the Ukraine crisis could be the "most dangerous moment" for Europe in many years.
2Johnson made the comment Thursday in Moscow as the top diplomats from Britain and Russia held talks about the tension along the Russia-Ukraine border.
3Russian forces held military exercises north of Ukraine in Belarus and the Black Sea.
4The exercises are part of Russia's deployment of over 100,000 troops that has made the West fear an invasion.
5Ukraine also held military exercises at the same time.
6But leaders on all sides say they hoped diplomacy can still succeed.
7In the latest round of diplomacy, Britain's foreign minister debated publicly with Russia's top diplomat at talks in Moscow.
8Johnson also visited NATO headquarters in Brussels.
9And officials from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France were set to meet in Berlin to discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
10Russia says it has no plans to invade but wants the West to keep Ukraine out of the NATO alliance.
11It also wants NATO to stop sending weapons there and remove NATO forces from Eastern Europe.
12The U.S. and NATO reject the demands.
13"I honestly don't think a decision has yet been taken" by Moscow on whether to attack, Johnson said in a news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels.
14"But that doesn't mean that it is impossible that something absolutely disastrous could happen very soon...."
15Talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss appear to have gone poorly.
16Truss restated a call for Russia to pull back its troops.
17Lavrov rejected the demand and pointed to British and NATO military buildups in Eastern Europe.
18He rejected the show of concern by the West about the Russian troop buildup as "propaganda."
19Afterwards, Lavrov described the meeting as a "conversation between deaf and dumb."
20He said Western politicians were using tensions over Ukraine for political gain at home.
21Russia has always planned to move back the troops, Lavrov said.
22And once it does, "the West will ... claim that it has forced Russia to de-escalate."
23Russia's buildup includes sending troops to its ally Belarus for joint exercises.
24The Ukrainian capital is about 75 kilometers south of the border with Belarus.
25Ukraine on Thursday also criticized Russian naval exercises in the Black and Azov seas, saying they have interfered with private shipping.
26Russian answered that the exercises do not violate international law.
27As the West warns of an invasion, Ukrainian officials have tried to project calm.
28There are concerns that fear over war will further damage the country's weak economy.
29"We believe that the concentration of troops near the border is part of psychological pressure from our neighbor," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
30Russia and Ukraine have been in a conflict since 2014.
31At that time a popular uprising ousted Ukraine's Russia-friendly leader from office.
32Moscow responded by annexing Crimea and then backing rebel militants in eastern Ukraine.
33The fighting has killed over 14,000 people.
34A 2015 peace deal with help from France and Germany helped end much of the fighting.
35But smaller disputes have continued, and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have slowed.
36Foreign policy advisers from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine are holding more talks Thursday in Berlin.
37They are trying to reach a common interpretation of the 2015 agreement and plan further steps.
38The talks are part of new diplomatic efforts to resolve the biggest security crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
39U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met Lavrov in Geneva, while French President Emmanuel Macron met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow before heading to Kyiv this week.
40German Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to visit to Kyiv and Moscow early next week.
41He met Monday with American President Joe Biden.
42Biden promised that the Nord Stream 2 Russia-to-Germany gas pipeline would be blocked in the event of an invasion.
43I'm Dan Novak.
1British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the Ukraine crisis could be the "most dangerous moment" for Europe in many years. 2Johnson made the comment Thursday in Moscow as the top diplomats from Britain and Russia held talks about the tension along the Russia-Ukraine border. 3Russian forces held military exercises north of Ukraine in Belarus and the Black Sea. The exercises are part of Russia's deployment of over 100,000 troops that has made the West fear an invasion. 4Ukraine also held military exercises at the same time. But leaders on all sides say they hoped diplomacy can still succeed. 5In the latest round of diplomacy, Britain's foreign minister debated publicly with Russia's top diplomat at talks in Moscow. Johnson also visited NATO headquarters in Brussels. And officials from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France were set to meet in Berlin to discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine. 6Russia says it has no plans to invade but wants the West to keep Ukraine out of the NATO alliance. It also wants NATO to stop sending weapons there and remove NATO forces from Eastern Europe. The U.S. and NATO reject the demands. 7"I honestly don't think a decision has yet been taken" by Moscow on whether to attack, Johnson said in a news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels. "But that doesn't mean that it is impossible that something absolutely disastrous could happen very soon...." 8A conversation between 'deaf and dumb' 9Talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss appear to have gone poorly. 10Truss restated a call for Russia to pull back its troops. Lavrov rejected the demand and pointed to British and NATO military buildups in Eastern Europe. He rejected the show of concern by the West about the Russian troop buildup as "propaganda." 11Afterwards, Lavrov described the meeting as a "conversation between deaf and dumb." He said Western politicians were using tensions over Ukraine for political gain at home. Russia has always planned to move back the troops, Lavrov said. And once it does, "the West will ... claim that it has forced Russia to de-escalate." 12Russia's buildup includes sending troops to its ally Belarus for joint exercises. The Ukrainian capital is about 75 kilometers south of the border with Belarus. 13Ukraine on Thursday also criticized Russian naval exercises in the Black and Azov seas, saying they have interfered with private shipping. Russian answered that the exercises do not violate international law. 14As the West warns of an invasion, Ukrainian officials have tried to project calm. There are concerns that fear over war will further damage the country's weak economy. 15"We believe that the concentration of troops near the border is part of psychological pressure from our neighbor," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. 16Russia and Ukraine have been in a conflict since 2014. At that time a popular uprising ousted Ukraine's Russia-friendly leader from office. Moscow responded by annexing Crimea and then backing rebel militants in eastern Ukraine. The fighting has killed over 14,000 people. 17A 2015 peace deal with help from France and Germany helped end much of the fighting. But smaller disputes have continued, and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have slowed. 18Foreign policy advisers from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine are holding more talks Thursday in Berlin. They are trying to reach a common interpretation of the 2015 agreement and plan further steps. 19The talks are part of new diplomatic efforts to resolve the biggest security crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met Lavrov in Geneva, while French President Emmanuel Macron met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow before heading to Kyiv this week. 20German Chancellor Olaf Scholz plans to visit to Kyiv and Moscow early next week. He met Monday with American President Joe Biden. Biden promised that the Nord Stream 2 Russia-to-Germany gas pipeline would be blocked in the event of an invasion. 21I'm Dan Novak. 22Dan Novak adapted this for VOA Learning English from reporting by Reuters and The Associated Press. 23______________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25absolutely- adv. completely or totally 26escalate - v. to become worse or to make worse or more severe 27psychological - adj. of or relating to the mind 28annex -v. to take control of a territory or place 29interpret - v. to explain the meaning of