Russian Information Agency Novosti
April 24, 2014
CSTO to Suspend Dialogue With NATO Due to Ukrainian Crisis
MOSCOW: The Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has suspended contacts with NATO because of the situation in Ukraine, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha said Thursday.
“For now we will not be making any efforts to establish contact with NATO, due to their stance during the Ukrainian crisis,” Bordyuzha said at a press conference hosted by RIA Novosti.
He explained that NATO is currently “blackmailing” Russia and its allies. “Today, NATO is blackmailing all of the CSTO member states … showing that they are extremely dissatisfied with Russia’s actions in recent months.”
Last week, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance intends to deploy additional military personnel to enhance combat readiness and perform military drills, as well as revise its defense plans in connection with the Ukrainian crisis. The Atlantic alliance also decided to strengthen air patrols in Eastern Europe and send ships to the Baltic Sea and the eastern Mediterranean.
Russian authorities are closely watching the actions of NATO in the context of the situation in Ukraine. Russia’s envoy to NATO, Alexander Grushko, has warned about taking “necessary measures” to prevent Russian security from being undermined by the new NATO steps.
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Russian Information Agency Novosti
April 24, 2014
MOSCOW: No facts have been found to support allegations that Russian troops are operating in eastern Ukraine, hit by pro-federalization rallies since last month, the head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization said Thursday.
The coup-imposed Ukrainian authorities backed by Western countries have claimed that Russia has sent troops to aid federalists in Ukraine’s east. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier dismissed the allegations as nonsense.
“The presence of Russian servicemen on the territory of Ukraine in the eastern region has not been confirmed by anyone and anything, not a single fact,” Nikolai Bordyuzha said.
According to Bordyuzha, there is a “strong concentration of Ukrainian troop formations” in the region.
The chief of the Russian-led post-Soviet security bloc denied reports of a planned Russian military offensive in eastern Ukraine.
“I have not heard from any of the country’s leaders that Russia is ready to invade Ukraine. Russia has no such plans,” Bordyuzha said.
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Wednesday that international inspections had provided no evidence that Russia is carrying out “threatening military activity” on its border with Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier said Russia is not conducting any unusual or unplanned military activities near its border with Ukraine.
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