RIGA
\nThe United States on Tuesday warned Russia of \u201cserious consequences\u201d if it launches an invasion of Ukraine, as Nato ministers looked to counter a military build-up by Moscow on its neighbour\u2019s border.
\nThe long-scheduled meeting of Nato top diplomats in Latvia\u2019s capital Riga comes at a volatile moment along the bloc\u2019s eastern flank as allies also grapple with a migrant crisis the West says is fuelled by Kremlin-backed Belarus.
\nWestern countries spearheaded by the US worry that Moscow could be planning an incursion into Ukraine after accusing the Kremlin of massing tens of thousands of troops and heavy armour close to the frontier.
\n\u201cAny escalatory actions by Russia would be of great concern to the United States… and any renewed aggression would trigger serious consequences,\u201d US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told journalists ahead of the meeting.
\n\u201cWe have seen Russia\u2019s playbook many times over.\u201d Moscow, which seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and backs separatists fighting Kiev, has strongly denied it is plotting an attack and blames Nato for fuelling tensions.
\nRussian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that military exercises and other moves by the West and Ukraine threaten Russia\u2019s security, warning against crossing the Kremlin\u2019s \u201cred lines\u201d.
\n\u201cLook, they spoke about a possible Russian military intervention in Ukraine at the beginning of the year. But as you see this did not happen,\u201d Putin said.
\nThe new build-up follows a similar surge in the spring, when Russia gathered around 100,000 troops on Ukraine\u2019s borders but later announced a drawdown.
\nNato diplomats say the bloc remains uncertain of Putin\u2019s intentions this time round \u2014 but ministers will discuss contingency plans should Russia invade. The US-led alliance is looking to show the Kremlin it faces severe costs if it threatens Ukraine, while stopping short of provoking Moscow into further aggression.
\nOfficials expect talks on additional support for Ukraine\u2019s military and potentially a move to strengthen Nato forces arrayed along its eastern wing.
\nBut they point out that Nato-aspirant Ukraine \u2014 which will have its foreign minister arriving for day two of the meeting on Wednesday \u2014 is not covered by the alliance\u2019s collective defence pact.
\nNato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said alliance members had \u201cdifferent options\u201d to respond if Russia moved on Ukraine.
\n\u201cWe have demonstrated over the years in reaction to Russia\u2019s previous use of military force against Ukraine that we can sustain heavy economic and financial sanctions, political sanctions,\u201d he said.
\nThe growing fears around Ukraine come as Nato members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have faced another threat coming from the east that will be high on the agenda in Riga. They accuse Moscow\u2019s ally Belarus of funnelling thousands of mainly Middle Eastern migrants to their borders in a \u201chybrid attack\u201d as retribution for EU sanctions against Minsk. President Alexander Lukashenko rejects the claim.
\nNato has expressed \u201csolidarity\u201d with its eastern members, but has largely been left on the sidelines as the threat level floats in a grey zone just short of actual aggression.
\nPoland\u2019s President Andrzej Duda mooted increasing Nato force numbers deployed on its eastern flanks at a meeting with Stoltenberg last week.
\nBut a move to trigger emergency consultations under article 4 of the alliance\u2019s founding treaty appears to have been put on hold for now.
\nBorder tensions have eased slightly as some migrants have begun returning to Iraq, but Warsaw and Vilnius insist the crisis is far from over.
\nThe European Union, US and other Nato members are set to hit Belarus with a fresh raft of sanctions in the coming days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RIGA The United States on Tuesday warned Russia of \u201cserious consequences\u201d if it launches an invasion of Ukraine, as Nato ministers looked to counter a military build-up by Moscow on its neighbour\u2019s border. The long-scheduled meeting of Nato top diplomats in Latvia\u2019s capital Riga comes at a volatile moment along the bloc\u2019s eastern flank as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230424,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1147,338,456,444],"class_list":{"0":"post-230409","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-aggression","9":"tag-russia","10":"tag-ukraine","11":"tag-us"},"yoast_head":"\n