Ukraine, Baltics foreign ministers condemn escalation in eastern Ukraine
KYIV (Reuters) - The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia condemned the military escalation by Russia in eastern Ukraine, urging Moscow to ease tensions in the region and return to negotiations.
Ukraine's Dmytro Kuleba said it was necessary to show Russia that the intensification of the escalation in the Donbass region would have "very painful" consequences for it.
"Today, the four of us can firmly declare that we condemn the exacerbation of the situation by Russia, the actions and statements of Moscow aimed at escalating tensions," Kuleba said at a joint news conference with the Baltics ministers in Kyiv.
"The world is on the side of Ukraine and international law, and this is one of the elements of restraining Russia from reckless actions," he added.
The United States and NATO allies have been alarmed by the large buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine and in Crimea, the peninsula that Moscow annexed from Kyiv in 2014.
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Joe Biden called on Russia to pull back troops from the Ukrainian border to de-escalate the situation in the region.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
