RIGA, December 1, Ukraine urged NATO on Wednesday to prepare economic sanctions on Russia and boost military cooperation with Kyiv as it joined the Western Alliance for talks about how to deter Russia from a renewed attack after mass troops were close by.
The Ukrainian republic, a former Soviet republic that now aspires to join the European Union and NATO, has become a main flashpoint between Russia and the West as relations have soured to their worst level in the last three decades since the Cold War ended.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters on arrival for talks with his NATO counterparts in Riga that they will call on the allies to join Ukraine in putting together a deterrence package.
As part of the package, NATO should prepare economic sanctions for Russia if it decides to choose the worst-case scenario, he said, adding that it should also boost military and defence cooperation with Ukraine.
On Tuesday, NATO and the United States warned Moscow it would pay a high price for any new military aggression against Ukraine.
A Russian aggression against Ukraine would have a high price and serious political and economic consequences for Russia, said Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General, after the first day of talks between the 30 allies in Riga.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin countered that Russia would have to act if U.S.-led NATO placed missiles in Ukraine that could strike Moscow within a few minutes.
At a news conference later on Wednesday, U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken is expected to explain in more detail what intelligence Washington has about Russia's intentions in Ukraine.
In 2014, the Kremlin annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine and supported rebels fighting government troops in the east of the country. The conflict has killed 14,000 people, and is still simmering, according to Kyiv.