Kiev (AFP) - NATO warned on Tuesday of a \"very serious\" build-up of Russian soldiers and weapons inside Ukraine and on the border, as Germany's foreign minister urged Kiev and Moscow to respect a tattered peace plan. <\/p>\n
The West is keeping up intense pressure on Russia over Ukraine following a bad-tempered G20 summit in Australia at the weekend which Russian President Vladimir Putin left early. <\/p>\n
In Brussels, NATO's head Jens Stoltenberg issued a stark warning to Moscow over the seven-month conflict in Ukraine's east which has killed over 4,100 people and plunged relations between the West and Russia to a post-Cold War low. <\/p>\n
Stoltenberg warned of a \"very serious build-up\" of troops, artillery and air defence systems inside Ukraine and on the Russian side of the border as he arrived to meet European Union defence ministers in Brussels. <\/p>\n
\"Russia has a choice. Russia can either be part of a peaceful negotiated solution or Russia can continue on a path of isolation,\" Stoltenberg said. \"The international community calls on Russia to be part of the solution.\" <\/p>\n
At the same time, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier saw Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kiev, ahead of a crunch meeting later Tuesday in Moscow with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov -- the first such visit by a senior European minister since July. <\/p>\n
Germany is playing the lead role in mediating the crisis with Russia. <\/p>\n
Steinmeier said the peace plan agreed in Belarus in September, and its ceasefire, which has been frequently violated, \"were not perfect but they do form a basis. We have to fulfil the agreements.\" <\/p>\n
As the unrest in eastern Ukraine drags on into the ex-Soviet state's harsh winter, Ukraine's military said Tuesday that fresh clashes over the past 24 hours between government forces and rebels killed five of its soldiers. <\/p>\n
The latest deaths came despite the nominal truce that has halted fighting along much of the frontline but failed to stop bombardments at key flashpoints. <\/p>\n
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Read more: Kiev (AFP) - NATO warned on Tuesday of a \"very serious\" build-up of Russian soldiers and weapons inside Ukraine and on the border, as Germany's foreign minister urged Kiev and Moscow to respect a tattered peace plan. The West is keeping up intense pressure on Russia over Ukraine following a bad-tempered G20 summit in Australia at the weekend which Russian President Vladimir Putin left early. Continue reading
\nNATO sees 'very serious' Russian military build-up in Ukraine<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"