UK prime minister, Boris Johnson will launch new diplomatic efforts across Europe in the coming week in an effort to defuse the Ukraine crisis, according to the defense minister of Johnson's cabinet, Ben Wallace.
Despite concerns that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine, Wallace suggested some countries were not taking a serious stance against Moscow. Johnson will hold talks with other world leaders as well as with Nordic and Baltic countries.
Wallace compared Western diplomatic efforts to halt a Russian invasion of Ukraine to appeasement of Nazi Germany prior to World War II. Wallace is due in Brussels for a meeting of NATO defense ministers starting Wednesday to discuss the crisis.
Wallace said,
“The crisis on Ukraine’s border has reached a critical juncture. All the information we have suggests Russia could be planning an invasion of Ukraine at any moment.”
“This would have disastrous consequences for both Ukraine and Russia. The Prime Minister would work with Britain’s allies to head off the crisis.”
In Kyiv, the Ukrainian government has asked Russia and other members of a key European security group to meet about escalating tensions on its border.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Russia ignored formal requests for explanations of its troop buildup. To obtain transparency about Russia's plans, Kyiv is requesting a meeting within 48 hours.
Ukraine has prompted the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for Russia to explain its build-up of troops. In accordance with the Vienna Document, of which Russia is a party, OSCE members can ask for information on a member’s military activities.
“If Russia is serious when it talks about the indivisibility of security in the OSCE space, it must fulfill its commitment to military transparency to de-escalate tensions and enhance security for all,” Foreign Minister Kuleba said.
Moscow denies any intention to invade Ukraine despite the build-up of some 100,000 soldiers on Ukraine’s borders but is pressing the US-led NATO alliance to pull its forces out of eastern Europe and pledge to never expand into Ukraine, demands Washington and other Western countries have rejected.
Moscow also contends that its build-up of troops along the Ukraine border is its concern, within its territory. On Sunday, senior foreign policy official Yuri Ushakov characterized the US warnings of imminent invasion as “hysteria has reached its peak”