NATO slams Russia over

Ukraine

By Carol Morello December 2 at 10:36 AM

BRUSSELS NATO accused Russia on Tuesday of destabilizing Ukraine, amid

rising concern of a broader confrontation after Moscow announced it would hold
more military exercises next year.
In a display of anger from the alliance, which is providing advisers and nonlethal
aid to the government in Kiev, foreign ministers from the 28 countries that make
up NATO chastised Moscow for its troop build-up in and around eastern Ukraine.

We strongly condemn Russias continued and deliberate destabilization of eastern

Ukraine in breach of international law, the group said in a statement. It said

Moscow has provided tanks, air defense systems and heavy weapons to pro-Russian
separatists.
The statement also vowed that members of NATO do not and will not recognize
Russias annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in March.
The defiant words came a day after Russia announced it would conduct more than
4,000 military exercises in 2015, up from about 1,000 this year. Some will involve
tens of thousands of soldiers, Russia said.
In the tit-for-tat verbal war between the West and Russia, Moscow on Monday
accused NATO of destabilizing northern Europe and the Baltics.
They are trying to destabilize the most stable region in the world northern

Europe, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said of NATO in an

interview with the Russian news agency Interfax. The endless military exercises,
transferring aircraft capable of carrying nuclear arms to the Baltic states. This
reality is extremely negative.
The United States will discuss imposing further sanctions on Russia if it does not
pull back from Ukraine, a senior State Department official said, adding that existing
sanctions already have taken a heavy toll on the faltering Russian economy.
If Russia makes a different choice, there can be some sanctions relief, the official

said. But if it doesn't, the pressure is going to rise.

NATOs year-end meeting at its Brussels headquarters is an annual event that
carries extra significance this year because of several dire international crisis.
Among those attending is Secretary of State John F. Kerry.

The officials are discussing how to beef up NATO forces in Eastern Europe and the
Baltic states to deter Russia, provide more support for Ukraine and form a quickreaction military force.
They also are meeting in advance of a pivotal moment in NATO'S relationship with
Afghanistan, as the mission changes from combat to support. Under the new
mission, called Resolute Support, 12,000 NATO troops will train, advise and assist
Afghan forces. But the United States is temporarily keeping extra troops in
Afghanistan to bridge the gap caused by nations that have not yet fulfilled their
pledges.
Amid the sober discussions were moments of relative levity.
Kerry arrived Tuesday morning and promptly met with the new Polish foreign
minister, Grzegorz Schetyna, giving him a basketball signed by players for the
Boston Celtics. Schetyna is said to have learned English from the foreign players on
a basketball team he once owned in Poland. He also is reputed to be a big Celtics
fan.
Because so many senior diplomats are in Brussels for the NATO meeting, they will
be convening separately on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing campaign against
the Islamic States spread in Syria and Iraq.
According to another senior State Department official, one of the major topics will
be how to deter foreign fighters who have traveled to the Middle East to fight
alongside Islamic State combatants, and how to keep them from returning home
and wreaking havoc. An estimated 10,000 foreigners are among about 30,000
fighters believed to be waging war on behalf of the Islamic State, a radical al-Qaeda
offshoot that is also known as ISIS or ISIL.
The official said the U.S. Treasury Department is helping to identify banks that are

helping to launder money from ransoms and oil sales that is then used to finance
the Islamic State's activities. At one time, the daily proceeds were believed to be as
much as $2 million but now are considerably diminished. Banks involved in the
money laundering will face sanctions, the official said.

Carol Morello is the diplomatic correspondent for The

Washington Post, covering the State Department.
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