International
Alexander Nemenov / AFP / Getty Images
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned on Thursday that Ukraine's ambitions to join NATO threaten to derail peace talks over the fighting in eastern Ukraine. But Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko was undeterred and began a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama and other top NATO leaders in Wales.
Pro-Russian separatists have been fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine since mid-April in a conflict that the U.N. estimates has killed nearly 2,600 people.
Russia and Ukraine said Wednesday that they are working on a deal to halt months of fighting in the country’s east. Russian President Vladimir Putin spelled out a seven-point plan for ending hostilities and expressed hope for a breakthrough at talks set for Friday in Minsk, Belarus.
But Lavrov said in televised remarks Thursday that statements by senior government officials in Kiev that Ukraine will be seeking to join NATO are "a blatant attempt to derail all the efforts" to seek a peaceful solution in Ukraine.
NATO leaders are holding a summit meeting this week at a golf resort in southern Wales. Before the official proceedings began, Poroshenko attended a meeting with Obama and leaders of four major European powers in the alliance: British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President François Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
Poroshenko was set to meet later in the day with heads of state and government from all 28 NATO member states. NATO officials have made clear that membership for Ukraine is not in the cards anytime soon, but the alliance is expected to express solid support for Poroshenko's government and announce an increase in nonlethal aid for Ukraine's military.
On Thursday morning, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen accused the Russians of continuing to meddle in Ukraine despite Putin's proclamation of a peace plan.
"What counts is what is actually happening on the ground," Rasmussen said. "And we are still witnessing, unfortunately, Russian involvement in destabilizing the situation in eastern Ukraine.” In an escalation of rhetoric, he said that “we are faced with a dramatically changed security environment … To the east, Russia is attacking Ukraine."
Rebels have made substantial advances against Ukrainian forces over the past two weeks, including opening a new front along the coast of the Sea of Azov. That offensive has raised concern that the rebels are aiming to take control of Mariupol — a major port city of about half a million people — and secure a land corridor between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, a part of Ukraine that Russia annexed in March.
On Thursday a reporter for The Associated Press saw three military-type vehicles on fire in Berezove, a village along the main road connecting Mariupol and Donetsk, the largest rebel-held city. Separatist fighters were moving nearby, indicating that they could be trying to take control of the strategically important highway there.
Later, columns of smoke rose outside nearby Olenivka, indicating Ukrainian forces could be trying to retake the village, which recently fell under Russian control.
Also Thursday, Ukrainian national security council spokesman Col. Andriy Lysenko told reporters that 837 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and 3,044 wounded since the fight against the separatists began in April.
Al Jazeera and The Associated Press
The 28-nation bloc meets this week to address Russian aggression in its backyard, but defending members is the priority
Analysis: Despite Western and Ukrainian protestations, Moscow may view more confrontation as only way to save face
Developments come after West accused Russia of sending troops into Ukraine, which Moscow denies
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