NATO Warns Russia Of "Historic Mistake" In Ukraine
(Vatican Radio) The NATO military alliance has warned Russia against making what it
calls an "historic mistake" by supporting calls for secession in eastern Ukraine,
that Moscow itself conceded could spill into a civil war.
In one of his
strongest remarks to date, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday
that Europe is facing a security crisis as Russia allegedly supports separatists in
eastern Ukraine.
"Russia's illegal aggression against Ukraine is the greatest
challenge to Europe's security in a generation," he told reporters. "I urge Russia
to step back and not escalate the situation in east Ukraine," Rasmussen added, during
a seminar on NATO reforms.
His remarks came while Ukrainian authorities said
special forces recaptured the main government building from pro-Russian protesters
in the eastern city of Kharkiv. Some 70 people were detained in what officials called
an anti-terrorist operation.
DEMANDING REFERENDUM
Rebels demanding a
referendum on independence from Ukraine are holding out in at least two other Ukrainian
cities, Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Danylo Lubkivsky
accused Moscow of paying Russian residents to help fuel tensions, but warned his nation
would defend itself.
"If Russia goes ahead [with military action] we will
defend ourselves. Ukraine will protect itself," he stressed.
"And we will fight
for our independence and statehood. In this case obviously we will ask for military
support and for military action," he warned.
MOSCOW DENIES
Russia
denies wrongdoing, saying Ukraine should avoid military preparations that could spark
a civil war. Turbulence in the Ukraine's eastern regions has also triggered violence
in Kyiv.
Moscow also has defended the presence of as many as 40,000 Russian
troops near Ukrainian borders for what it called "military exercises", after Russian
forces already annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
On Tuesday, scuffles
broke out in Parliament, which passed a law envisaging long jail terms for "acts against
the country’s territorial integrity" effectively targeting separatists.
With
Ukraine in turmoil, Russia and the West seem more divided than ever over the future
of this strategic former Soviet nation.