Kremlin would accept Ukraine’s formal refusal of NATO membership

China evaded questions on Monday as to why it had not yet evacuated its embassy staff and citizens from Ukraine amid heightened tensions with Russia. 

In a briefing Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the embassy in Ukraine is “working normally” when asked by a reporter why China had not yet evacuated its embassy staff. 

Without mentioning staff directly, Wang said the embassy continues to provide consular protection and assistance to “safeguard the safety and legitimate rights and interests” of Chinese citizens and enterprises in Ukraine. 

A number of countries, including the United States, have urged citizens to leave the country and reduced staff at embassies in Ukraine as Russia continues its buildup on the border.

In a follow-up question on why it had not yet evacuated its citizens, Wang said China’s position on Ukraine “is consistent and clear” and that parties should “remain rational and refrain from inflaming tensions or hyping up the crisis.”

“All parties should push for a comprehensive settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and related issues through dialogue and negotiation,” Wang said, reiterating that the Minsk Agreement should be “earnestly implemented.”

On Saturday, the Chinese embassy in Ukraine issued a warning to Chinese citizens to “pay close attention” to the political situation between Ukraine and Russia. 

 “The current tense relations between Ukraine and Russia have aroused a lot of attention and there are various inconsistent opinions,” the embassy’s statement said. “Please pay close attention to the [political] situation in Ukraine and enhance your awareness of prevention. The Embassy will always be with you!”

China — which has its own tensions with the West — has expressed diplomatic support for its ally, Russia. In a joint statement issued at the start of February, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping said both sides opposed “further enlargement of NATO.” Russia fears Ukraine may join the alliance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko are set to meet this week, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday. 

“Such a meeting is being prepared and we expect it to take place by the end of the week,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. 

Asked about whether a decision on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Belarus would be made during that meeting, Peskov said: “Let’s not jump ahead. Let’s wait for the meeting. The two presidents will also make statements following the talks.”

Russia began 10 days of joint military drills with its ally Belarus last week. Its deployment into Belarus is believed to be its biggest there since the Cold War, with “an expected 30,000 combat troops, Spetsnaz special operation forces, fighter jets including SU-35, Iskander dual-capable missiles and S-400 air defense systems,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on February 3.

In a transcript released Monday by his office, Lukashenko also confirmed a meeting with Putin in the near future and said a decision would be made regarding the timing of the withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Belarus.

“We will meet in the near future and decide when, at what time, and according to what schedule to withdraw the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from here. It’s our business,” Lukashenko said, according to the transcript. 

US President Joe Biden spent the weekend leading what is looking like an increasingly desperate final effort to forestall a Russian invasion of Ukraine — an incursion that could have grave consequences for his own political standing.

If President Vladimir Putin orders his tanks into Russia’s smaller, democratic neighbor, he would send shockwaves around the world and trigger one of the worst and most dangerous national security crises since the Cold War.

And while it is not his prime intention, Putin would cause significant damage to Biden’s prestige and inflict real-time consequences on Americans in an already tense midterm election year — including with likely new hikes to already soaring gasoline prices that often act as an index of voter anger and perceptions about the economy.

Read the full story here:

The finance ministers of the G7, an organization of leaders from some of the world’s largest economies, said in a joint statement Monday they were “prepared to collectively impose economic and financial sanctions” to any further military aggression by Russia in Ukraine.

“The ongoing Russian military build-up at Ukraine’s borders is a cause for grave concern,” the statement read. “We, the G7 Finance Ministers, underline our readiness to act swiftly and decisively to support the Ukrainian economy, while also supporting the ongoing efforts to urgently identify a diplomatic path towards de-escalation.”

While their “immediate priority is to support efforts to de-escalate the situation,” the statement stressed that “any further military aggression by Russia against Ukraine will be met with a swift, coordinated and forceful response.”

The statement continued: “We are prepared to collectively impose economic and financial sanctions which will have massive and immediate consequences on the Russian economy.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said if Ukraine refused “the idea of joining NATO” it “would significantly contribute to the formulation of a more meaningful response to Russian concerns,” in response to remarks made by Ukraine’s ambassador in London over the weekend.

Vadym Prystaiko, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United Kingdom, had suggested the country may reconsider its ambitions to join NATO in an effort to prevent war.

Prystaiko clarified his comments on Monday, saying his country was “ready for many concessions” but added those concessions have “nothing to do with NATO, which is enshrined in the [Ukrainian] constitution.”

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Oleg Nikolenko further clarified his country’s position Monday, saying: “I’d like to repeat that these [Prystaiko’s] words are a bad phrasing. The prospect of Ukraine’s membership in NATO is enshrined in the Constitution and no decisions can be taken contrary to it.”

Asked to respond to Prystaiko’s remarks, Peskov said: “You [the reporter] also drew attention to the fact that Kyiv was asked to clarify the ambassador. This can hardly be perceived as a fait accompli — a change in the conceptual foreign policy change of Kyiv.” 

Russia argues that NATO support for Ukraine — including increased weapons supplies and military training — constitutes a growing threat on Russia’s western flank.

Ongoing diplomacy

Peskov also told journalists that Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday.

This comes after US President Joe Biden spoke to Putin for around an hour on Saturday, but it did little to change Moscow’s position on Ukraine. A senior administration official told reporters following the call that the discussion was substantive but the US fears Russia may still launch a military attack anyway.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had on Friday accused Western countries and the press of spreading a “large-scale disinformation campaign” about an allegedly impending Russian invasion of Ukraine “in order to divert attention from their own aggressive actions.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is making a fresh attempt to resolve tensions between Russia and Ukraine through diplomacy on Tuesday. He is currently meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv.

The European Union will not be closing its diplomatic missions in Ukraine, the bloc said in a statement Monday, as various countries pull non-essential staff from their embassies.

“The EU and its member states are coordinating their actions in view of the current threats on Ukraine,” the EU statement read. “Our diplomatic missions are not closing. They remain in Kyiv and continue to operate in support to EU citizens and in cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities.”

“Staff presence and travel advice to EU citizens are being adjusted as necessary to take into account security circumstances,” the statement added.

The statement comes as ambassadors of EU member states endorse a proposal to provide €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine.

The proposal still has to be approved by the European Parliament and then formally by the EU Council, but the endorsement by EU ambassadors is expected to fast-track the process. 

“The EU stands by Ukraine, also economically. The current geopolitical tensions are having a severe economic impact on Ukraine,” Bruno Le Maire, France’s economy and finance minister said Monday according to a EU statement.

Le Maire said: “Member states are ready to provide €1.2 billion macro-financial assistance. I am happy to announce that we decided to support the Commission’s proposal today so that the financial help can reach Ukraine without delay.”

Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s border in recent weeks, according to US estimates, raising fears from Western and Ukrainian intelligence officials that an invasion could be imminent.

As frantic diplomatic efforts are made to avert war, analysts are warning that Russia’s military poses an immediate threat to Ukraine.

But if an invasion were to occur, it is not clear where it would begin. Russia has created pressure points on three sides of Ukraine — in Crimea to the south, on the Russian side of the two countries’ border, and in Belarus to the north.

Here are the three fronts Ukraine and the West are watching, and the recent Russian movements detected in each.

Read the full story here.

Global markets are dropping Monday as investors grow increasingly concerned about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.

European markets all opened sharply lower with Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 below 3%. UK’s FTSE 100 is down 2%.

US futures are also lower and Asian markets ended Monday’s session in red.

This comes as a number of countries have told their nationals to leave Ukraine after a week of failed diplomatic measures to avert Russian invasion of the country.

On Monday, Japan became the latest country to evacuate most of its embassy staff from Ukraine, according to the country’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno.

In a press conference, Matsuno said that most of Japan’s embassy staff in Kyiv are being asked to leave the country via commercial transport, with only essential ​personnel permitted to remain. 

Meanwhile, Greece urged its citizens still in Ukraine to leave the country on Monday, imploring those who remain to “share their contact details immediately with the Greek Embassy” in Kyiv, its Foreign Ministry said.

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Vadym Prystaiko, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United Kingdom, has clarified remarks made Sunday when he suggested that Ukraine might consider not seeking to join NATO in an effort to prevent war with Russia.

Prystaiko told the BBC in an interview Monday: “We are not a member of NATO right now and to avoid war we are ready for many concessions and that’s what we’re doing in our conversations with Russians. But it has nothing to do with NATO, which is enshrined in the [Ukrainian] constitution.”

In an earlier BBC interview, Prystaiko said: “What I’m saying here is that we are flexible, trying to find the best, best way out. If we have to go from, sort of some serious, I don’t know, some serious concessions, that’s something we might do. That’s, that’s for sure.”

This comes as Russia argues that NATO support for Ukraine — including increased weapons supplies and military training — constitutes a growing threat on Russia’s western flank.

Asked by CNN for comment on the ambassador’s statements, a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the ambassador’s words were “taken out of context.”

“Of course, for the sake of peace and saving the lives of our citizens, Ukraine is ready to enter into any format of dialogue with countries and international organizations,” he said.

“At the same time, Ambassador Prystaiko rightly noted in an interview that the prospect of NATO membership is enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine, but Ukraine is not currently a member of NATO or another security alliance. Therefore, the issue of security guarantees becomes key for our country.

“Undoubtedly, the best such guarantee would be Ukraine’s immediate accession to the Alliance. But threats to Ukraine exist here and now, so finding an answer to the question of guarantees becomes a fundamental urgent task. At the same time, no decision can be made contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine.”

Britain will support whatever Ukraine decides to do regarding its pursuit of NATO membership, UK Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey told Sky News Monday.

“If Ukraine decides that it is going to offer that it won’t become a NATO member, we support that. That’s for the Ukrainians to decide,” Heappey told Sky News.

“Similarly, if Ukraine wanted to reserve its position and say that in the future it may want to join NATO, we would support that too because that’s what sovereignty is and that’s what we support,” the minister added.