“We will always respond to any deterioration in our security environment, including by strengthening our collective defence,” he said.
Latvian Foreign Affairs Minister Edgars Rinkevi has called on NATO to address the “continuous” Russian and Belarusian military build-up on Ukraine’s borders with an “appropriate” countermeasure.
“It is time to increase the presence of Allied forces in the eastern side of the coalition as a measure of defense and deterrence,” the minister said.
Speaking to reporters at the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday, the bloc’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said no decision had been made on ordering EU diplomatic staff and their families to leave Ukraine.
“We’re not going to do the same thing, because we don’t know any specific reason,” Borrell said.
Britain’s Foreign Office also announced on Monday that some British embassy staff and dependents were being withdrawn from Kiev in response to growing threats from Russia.
Representatives from the four countries involved in the “Normandy format” talks – France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine – will meet on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine, an Elysee spokesman confirmed to CNN.
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