Nato alarm as Russian troops mass on border with Ukraine

A Nato chief today warned of deep concerns over Russian troops massing close to Ukraine’s border as Moscow called for greater autonomy for the crisis-hit country’s regions.

As the West seeks to dissuade Vladimir Putin from ordering his troops to march into eastern Ukraine, David Cameron met with United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon to discuss how to maintain pressure on the Russian president.

The Prime Minister also spoke to Chinese president Xi Jinping at a summit in the Hague where the G7 group of wealthy nations yesterday agreed to suspend co-operation with Russia under the G8 umbrella which previously included the country. Instead of the planned G8 summit in the Russian city of Sochi in June, there will be a G7 meeting, excluding Russia, in Brussels.

With Crimea now under Russian military control, the focus was on Putin’s next move.

“We are very much concerned about the Russian military build-up along the borders of Ukraine,” said Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Talks were also ongoing with Kiev, he added, over boosting support for non-NATO member Ukraine, with the threat of more US and EU economic sanctions if Moscow orders an invasion.

Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov met with his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Deshchytsia for the first time yesterday and reportedly demanded constitutional change to give more autonomy for Ukraine’s regions.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit in the Hague.

Russia is eager to retain its influence in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking eastern regions, including cities such as Donetsk, and prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.