Lavrov made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking to students and staff at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in response to Polish proposals for a NATO and international “peace mission.”

“Our Polish colleagues have already stated that there will be a NATO summit now, we need to send peacekeepers. I hope they understand what is at stake,” Lavrov said, according to Russian state-owned news agency TASS.

“This will be the direct clash between the Russian and NATO armed forces that everyone has not only tried to avoid but said should not take place in principle,” the foreign minister said.

The comments came amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has seen NATO members provide humanitarian and military aid to the country while imposing harsh sanctions on Russia.

On March 15, Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Poland’s ruling party, called for NATO peacekeepers to be sent to Ukraine.

“I think that it is necessary to have a peace mission – NATO, possibly some wider international structure—but a mission that will be able to defend itself, which will operate on Ukrainian territory,” Kaczyński said at a news conference.

“It will be a mission that will strive for peace, to give humanitarian aid, but at the same time it will also be protected by appropriate forces, armed forces,” he said.

The following day, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his country would propose a peacekeeping force at the next NATO summit.

The U.S. and NATO have previously ruled out imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine despite repeated requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky because of concerns about a potential confrontation between NATO and Russian forces.

President Joe Biden has also ruled out U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine and it remains unclear how NATO leaders will approach the Polish proposal.

The Russian foreign minister also suggested on Wednesday that the Polish government may want to “make headquarters” in the Ukrainian city of Lviv and “stay there.”

“Why not, they had such thoughts, and not only thoughts, this was in the past,” Lavrov said.

Lviv is about 40 miles from the Polish border and was once part of Poland before the German and Soviet invasion of the country in 1939. It was occupied by Germany during World War II, after which it became part of the Soviet Union

Newsweek has asked NATO for comment.

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/russia-warning-direct-clash-nato-peacekeepers-ukraine-1690935

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That’s according to an official statement released by the U.S. Department of State following the talks, Ukrinform reports.

The parties discussed “the importance of continued coordination to deter any further Russian aggression against Ukraine and affirmed the consensus among Allies and partners to impose massive consequences and severe costs on Russia for such actions,” the statement reads.

Also, it is emphasized that diplomacy chiefs have “reaffirmed unwavering support” for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

The parties also discussed the Iranian nuclear issue, China’s economic and political pressure on Lithuania, and the election process in Libya.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The parties agreed to continue consultations to coordinate positions and diplomatic efforts to achieve peace.

Source: https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3377635-us-france-germany-uk-coordinate-steps-to-deter-russia-state-department.html

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Putin’s demands are contained in a pair of draft treaties Russia submitted to NATO earlier this month.

POLITICO reported that Putin, whose remarks aired on Russian state TV Sunday, expressed concerns about the possibility of missiles being deployed in Ukraine if the former Soviet satellite joins NATO.

“We have nowhere to retreat,” Putin said. “They have pushed us to a line that we can’t cross. They have taken it to the point where we simply must tell them; ‘Stop!'” When asked about the exact nature of the response he was proposing, Putin said it would “depend on what proposals our military experts submit to me.”

NATO is unlikely to agree to Putin’s terms. “NATO member countries decide who is a member of NATO, not Russia,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters, according to The Washington Post. President Biden has threatened increased sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine.

The Russian military announced Saturday that more than 10,000 Russian troops had returned to their bases after a month of drilling on the Ukrainian border, Reuters reports. Despite this reduction, Russia still has tens of thousands of troops stationed on the Ukrainian border, and intelligence analysts continue to warn that an invasion could be imminent.

Russian state media frequently refers to Ukraine as “a colony of the West” and smears Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, without evidence, as a drug addict, according to BBC. Over 14,000 people have been killed in fighting between Ukraine’s military and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014.

Source: https://theweek.com/russia/1008414/putin-threatens-military-action-if-nato-rejects-russian-ultimatum

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The Russian government has expressed anger at NATO efforts to supply Ukraine’s military with modern, high-tech weapons, arguing that those weapons would be used to provoke a conflict with Moscow.

The outcry comes during a period of heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Since its Euromaidan revolution in 2013–2014, Ukraine has pursued a pro-European Union foreign policy, drifting away from Russian orbit and signing cooperation agreements with the EU and with NATO. Russia has antagonized Ukraine by annexing the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and aiding pro-Russian separatist militias in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region for the past seven years.

In recent months, more than ninety thousand Russian troops have congregated near the Ukrainian border, raising fears of an open invasion—and preceding U.S. sales of lethal military equipment to Kiev, most prominently including Javelin anti-tank missiles, which was first allowed under the administration of President Donald Trump. The controversy surrounding the release of lethal military aid to Kiev, which Trump allegedly attempted to connect to political prosecution of then-former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, led to Trump’s first impeachment and ultimately his acquittal in a high-profile Senate trial.

The number of provocations that Ukraine was launching against Russia “is growing and growing significantly,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Monday. “These provocations are being carried out with weapons being supplied by NATO countries—and we are observing this with great alarm.”

Moscow has argued that, instead of simply accepting the weapons, Ukraine used them in provocations along the Ukrainian-Russian border, attempting to incite a wider military conflict at the behest of the United States. Kiev has denied doing this, insisting that existing provocations have only come from the Russian side and further military purchases help to ensure its independence.

Western nations supplying arms to the Ukrainian government, including the United States and the United Kingdom, offered no comment.

For its part, Russia has publicly denied intending to invade Ukraine. Peskov indicated on Monday that Russian troops had not increased on the Ukrainian border, claiming that such accusations represented “hysteria,” and implied that the United States was attempting to “whip up” anti-Russian sentiment by making them.

Trevor Filseth is a current and foreign affairs writer for the National Interest.

Source: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russia-cries-foul-nato-arms-ukraine%C2%A0-196990

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Germany expresses concern over Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine / Photo from UNIAN

Representative of the German Federal Government Ulrike Demmer has said her country was concerned over the movement of Russian troops toward the Ukrainian border.

“As you know, NATO, the EU, and many partners have recently expressed concern over the expansion of Russia’s military presence. The German government shares this concern and informed Moscow about it,” she said in German at a briefing broadcast on YouTube.

Russian troops amassed along Ukraine’s borders

On March 30, 2021, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel-General Ruslan Khomchak said Russia had deployed 28 battalion tactical groups along the state border of Ukraine and in the temporarily occupied territories. It is also said to be planning to bring up to 25 battalion tactical groups under the guise of preparing for military drills. Such actions pose a threat to Ukraine’s military security.

–The U.S. Department of Defense said it was “aware of Russian troop movements” on Ukraine’s borders and was concerned about recent escalations of Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine.

–On April 1, 2021, the Kremlin commented on the movement of Russian troops near Ukraine’s borders, saying this should not cause “any concern” to anyone.

–Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Moscow is trying to put pressure on Kyiv by amassing its military forces along the Russian-Ukrainian border. At the same time, he assures Ukraine is ready to counter any provocation and continues to defend in the negotiations the position of maintaining a more effective ceasefire in Donbas.

–The Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate does not rule out that enemy forces may try to go for an incursion and deploy their troops deeper into the territory of Ukraine. According to intelligence reports, Russia is building up its military presence near the Ukrainian borders and is completing the preparation of a set of measures aimed at forcing Ukraine into a military response.

–On April 1, 2021, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Taran had a phone call on the initiative of the American side. Austin condemned the recent aggressive and provocative actions by Russia in eastern Ukraine and assured his counterpart of U.S. readiness to support Ukraine in the context of Russia’s ongoing aggression in Donbas and Crimea.

–In turn, the Kremlin vowed “additional measures” if the U.S. troops are deployed on the territory of Ukraine.

–U.S. President Joe Biden in his first call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 2, 2021, affirmed the U.S. “unwavering support” for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity “in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression” in Donbas and Crimea.

Translation: Kanaryan Lyudmila

Source: https://www.unian.info/politics/escalation-in-donbas-germany-expresses-concern-over-russia-s-military-buildup-near-ukraine-11380162.html

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House Republicans blocked quick consideration of a bill calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office amid fallout from last week’s Capitol riot.

Democrats asked for consideration of a bill calling on Pence to mobilize the 25th Amendment, but Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.V., objected Monday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she would bring the bill to the floor if the unanimous consent request was blocked.

“The President represents an imminent threat to our Constitution, our Country, and the American people, and he must be removed from office immediately,” Pelosi said in a statement Monday, noting that House Republicans rejected the legislation, and claimed they were “enabling the President’s unhinged, unstable and deranged acts of sedition to continue.”

“Their complicity endangers America, erodes our Democracy, and it must end,” she said.

Pelosi announced that the House would take up the legislation, and said House Democrats are “further calling on the Vice President to respond within 24 hours after passage.”

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Monday announced on a call with the House Democratic Caucus that lawmakers should plan to return to Washington for Tuesday to consider the resolution, introduced by Rep. Jamie Raskin, regarding the 25th Amendment. Hoyer said votes will be at 7:30 p.m. at the earliest Tuesday.

The calls for Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment come from top Democrats in both chambers of Congress.

BIDEN AVOIDS FIRM POSITION ON IMPEACHMENT

Last week, Schumer and other Democrats urged Pence to “immediately” invoke the 25th Amendment, calling it the “quickest and most effective way” to remove Trump from office.

Schumer, though, warned that if Pence and the Cabinet did not take that path, Congress could “reconvene to impeach the president.”

The 25th Amendment includes a section allowing the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members to declare a president “unable” to perform the job.

Vice President Mike Pence officiates as a joint session of the House and Senate reconvenes to confirm the Electoral College votes at the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan 6, 2021. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

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