Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told President Vladimir Putin on Monday that there was still a "chance" to agree on a security stance with the West in what appeared to be a possible backtrack amid an impasse over Ukraine. Follow Monday's events as they happened below.
- 05.30am Paris time
Germany's Scholz flies to Moscow in bid to avert war
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz heads to Moscow on Tuesday to meet President Vladimir Putin in a high stakes mission to avert war, with Russia's largest trading partner in Europe warning of far-reaching sanctions if it attacks Ukraine.
Scholz's one-day trip, after visiting Kyiv on Monday, is part of frantic Western diplomacy to try to stop a potential attack as more than 100,000 Russian troops mass on Ukraine's borders.
The chancellor has said he will hammer home the message from the West that they are open to dialogue about Russia's security concerns but will impose sanctions if it invades Ukraine.
"We are ready for very far-reaching and effective sanctions in coordination with our allies," he said in Kyiv on Monday before returning to Berlin.
- 05:19am Paris time
Japan PM to call Ukraine leader over invasion fears, says media
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later Tuesday, local media reported, as Tokyo expressed "grave concerns" about the risk of a Russian invasion.
There was no immediate official confirmation of the call, which Japanese media said would happen on Tuesday evening local time, citing government sources.
The call comes as Russia appeared to open the door to a diplomatic resolution of the Ukraine standoff, and with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz due in Moscow later in the day.
Kishida said Tuesday that Japan was "watching the situation with grave concern."
"We'll continue to monitor the situation with high vigilance, while coordinating closely with G7 countries to deal with any developments appropriately," he said at a meeting between government ministers and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
- 11.20pm Paris time
Global stocks drop over fears of Russia Ukraine tensions
The S&P 500 index closed modestly lower on Monday, largely recovering from a sharp sell-off, as U.S. plans to close its Kyiv embassy in Ukraine sent simmering geopolitical tensions to a boil.
All three major U.S. stock indexes dropped sharply after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the relocation of U.S. diplomatic operations to western Ukraine, in a possible sign of an imminent Russian invasion.
Adding to uncertainty, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Wednesday would be the day of the attack. Ukrainian officials later said Zelenskiy was not predicting an attack on that day but responding with skepticism to foreign media reports.
- 8:45pm Paris time
US moves embassy from Kyiv
Washington’s decision to move the American embassy from Kyiv to Lviv is based on what the United States is “seeing on the ground with our own eyes, which is a continued and unprovoked Russian buildup on the border of Ukraine, and no accompanying evidence of de-escalation,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Monday.
- 8pm Paris time
France says ‘all elements in place’ for Russian offensive
“Are there all the elements for a major offensive by Russian forces in Ukraine? Yes there are, it’s possible, it’s possible quickly,” France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France 5 television on Monday evening, but added there was nothing to suggest that Moscow had taken such a decision.
France’s top diplomat said that if Russia threatened Ukraine’s sovereignty or integrity through invasion, Moscow could expect “massive consequences, massive sanctions”.
- 6:11pm Paris time
UN chief expresses ‘serious concern’
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has on Monday spoken separately with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Guterres expressed “serious concern” to both ministers over the heightened tensions and “welcomed the ongoing diplomatic discussions to defuse those tensions and underlined, yet again, the fact that there is no alternative to diplomacy,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
- 5:28 pm Paris time
US says Russia boosted forces on border over weekend
Russia has strengthened its forces amassed on the border of Ukraine over the weekend, the Pentagon’s spokesman said Monday, despite Moscow’s announcement that it was ending some military drills.
Putin “continues to add forces along that border with Ukraine and in Belarus, even just over the course of the weekend, he’s well north of 100,000,” the spokesman, John Kirby, told CNN.
- 5pm Paris time
World Bank relocates some staff in Ukraine
The World Bank is temporarily relocating some staff from Ukraine and has suspended staff missions to the country due to the tensions on the border with Russia.
“The World Bank Group’s foremost priority is to keep our staff and their families safe. In line with our evacuation policy, temporary relocation of staff is under way and enhanced security measures are in place,” an internal memo seen by Reuters on Monday said.
The memo did not provide details on where or how many staff were being relocated.
A World Bank Group spokesperson said the development lender’s operations in Ukraine would continue, adding: “To this end, staff will continue to work on our program from Ukraine and alternate locations.”
- 4:46 pm Paris time
Russia’s parliament to discuss draft bills on Donbass recognition
Russia’s parliament will vote on Tuesday to decide whether to ask Putin to recognise two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Duma lower house, said lawmakers would consider two alternative resolutions on recognition of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, in the area known as the Donbass, where separatist forces have been fighting the Ukrainian army since 2014.
- 4:26pm Paris time
Ukraine says moving embassy staff from Kyiv a 'mistake'
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says some Western countries, including the United States, have made a mistake to move their diplomats from Kyiv.
“It is a big mistake that some embassies – well, this is their decision – are moving to western Ukraine,” he said, after some international missions opened offices in the city of Lviv. “Because there is no western Ukraine, there is Ukraine, it is whole. So if, God forbid, something happens it will be everywhere.”
Several countries have withdrawn diplomats and urged their citizens to leave Ukraine, to the dismay of many in Kyiv, who fear the West is overreacting and giving ground to Russian pressure.
Canada and Australia are also closing their embassies in Kyiv temporarily, moving diplomatic operations to Lviv.
- 4:13pm Paris time
More US fighter jets have landed in Poland
An additional eight US F-15 fighter jets have landed in Poland, the Polish defence minister said, amid mounting tensions in eastern Europe after Russia massed troops near its border with Ukraine.
“More American F-15 fighters landed today at the base in Lask,” Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter. “Eight aircraft will join those that came to Poland last week.”
-
2:55pm Paris time
Some Russian military drills 'ending'
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin on Monday that some of Moscow’s massive military drills in Russia and Belarus were coming to a close, in what could be a sign of de-escalation over Ukraine.
“Some of these drills are ending, some will be completed in the near future,” Shoigu said, adding that some of the drills, which began in December, were ongoing.
-
2:37pm Paris time
Ukraine hails ‘positive’ defence talks with Belarus
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has hailed what he called a “positive” round of talks with his Belarusian counterpart, aimed at deflating tensions stoked by massive Russian-Belarus military drills.
“We discussed our agenda and determined our future steps. I view this as a positive signal and a first step towards fruitful cooperation,” he said in a statement.
-
2:35pm Paris time
Insurers terminate coverage for Ukraine international airlines in Ukraine airspace
Ukraine international airlines says it has received an official notification from insurers terminating insurance of its aircraft for flights in Ukrainian airspace.
-
2:03pm Paris time
Russia’s defence minister says US submarine detected in Russian waters
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu says Russia has detected a submarine, most likely from United States, in the country’s waters in far east.
-
2:01pm Paris time
Russia’s top diplomat urges Putin to talk to West
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday advised President Vladimir Putin to continue talks with the West on Russian security demands amid tensions over Ukraine.
He noted that the US has offered to conduct dialogue on limits for missile deployments in Europe, restrictions on military drills and other confidence-building measures.
Lavrov told Putin the United States had put forward concrete proposals on reducing military risks - offering to conduct dialogue on limits for missile deployments in Europe, restrictions on military drills and other confidence-building measures - but said responses from the European Union and NATO military alliance had not been satisfactory.
In a televised exchange, Putin asked Lavrov whether there was a chance of reaching an agreement to address Russia’s security concerns, or whether it was just being dragged into tortuous negotiations.
Lavrov replied: “We have already warned more than once that we will not allow endless negotiations on questions that demand a solution today.” But as foreign minister, he said, “I must say there are always chances.”
He added: “It seems to me that our possibilities are far from exhausted... At this stage, I would suggest continuing and building them up.”
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and REUTERS)
