Zürcher Nachrichten - Europe to fore in Ukraine crisis as US warns of Russian plot

EUR -
AED 3.878381
AFN 70.7463
ALL 97.61914
AMD 408.610835
ANG 1.902881
AOA 962.990181
ARS 1056.133675
AUD 1.629831
AWG 1.903279
AZN 1.782367
BAM 1.961169
BBD 2.131736
BDT 126.165379
BGN 1.956257
BHD 0.39792
BIF 3059.500854
BMD 1.055911
BND 1.420876
BOB 7.295109
BRL 6.101267
BSD 1.05579
BTN 89.111243
BWP 14.492536
BYN 3.455159
BYR 20695.847018
BZD 2.128166
CAD 1.481395
CDF 3026.239678
CHF 0.937438
CLF 0.037319
CLP 1029.755569
CNY 7.634553
CNH 7.648657
COP 4732.327162
CRC 539.276272
CUC 1.055911
CUP 27.98163
CVE 110.765732
CZK 25.288741
DJF 187.656729
DKK 7.458477
DOP 63.830097
DZD 141.090833
EGP 52.228289
ERN 15.838658
ETB 128.873835
FJD 2.402218
FKP 0.833448
GBP 0.831266
GEL 2.877311
GGP 0.833448
GHS 16.947137
GIP 0.833448
GMD 74.96988
GNF 9113.563672
GTQ 8.153629
GYD 220.880478
HKD 8.217001
HNL 26.461494
HRK 7.532084
HTG 138.728456
HUF 406.280067
IDR 16819.863322
ILS 3.949333
IMP 0.833448
INR 89.184477
IQD 1383.770792
IRR 44459.114242
ISK 145.704916
JEP 0.833448
JMD 167.13754
JOD 0.74875
JPY 164.483941
KES 136.746848
KGS 91.20586
KHR 4277.493968
KMF 492.577276
KPW 950.319106
KRW 1481.96991
KWD 0.324608
KYD 0.879792
KZT 523.432901
LAK 23171.957081
LBP 94609.586688
LKR 308.454396
LRD 194.389971
LSL 19.270249
LTL 3.117829
LVL 0.63871
LYD 5.142547
MAD 10.51481
MDL 19.124993
MGA 4915.2638
MKD 61.493876
MMK 3429.556317
MNT 3587.984033
MOP 8.463609
MRU 42.104426
MUR 49.828585
MVR 16.313496
MWK 1833.060651
MXN 21.60902
MYR 4.731009
MZN 67.474328
NAD 19.270822
NGN 1773.781857
NIO 38.836002
NOK 11.721563
NPR 142.583725
NZD 1.797172
OMR 0.406548
PAB 1.05581
PEN 4.017209
PGK 4.154744
PHP 62.147202
PKR 293.595921
PLN 4.324907
PYG 8245.572309
QAR 3.844095
RON 4.976081
RSD 116.819612
RUB 104.856145
RWF 1441.317917
SAR 3.96598
SBD 8.852284
SCR 14.358481
SDG 635.128609
SEK 11.567089
SGD 1.418188
SHP 0.833448
SLE 23.948042
SLL 22141.921534
SOS 603.457557
SRD 37.333301
STD 21855.216762
SVC 9.23829
SYP 2653.006815
SZL 19.270107
THB 36.819919
TJS 11.254396
TMT 3.706246
TND 3.328196
TOP 2.473047
TRY 36.246349
TTD 7.168624
TWD 34.401037
TZS 2808.722543
UAH 43.524448
UGX 3874.606762
USD 1.055911
UYU 44.852785
UZS 13542.052761
VES 47.509864
VND 26820.128279
VUV 125.359824
WST 2.94767
XAF 657.745123
XAG 0.034607
XAU 0.00041
XCD 2.853651
XDR 0.79537
XOF 650.970195
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.819195
ZAR 19.211538
ZMK 9504.459219
ZMW 28.954812
ZWL 340.00277
  • RBGPF

    -0.9400

    59.25

    -1.59%

  • CMSC

    -0.0600

    24.55

    -0.24%

  • RYCEF

    -0.3200

    6.79

    -4.71%

  • BCC

    -2.2000

    140.35

    -1.57%

  • NGG

    0.2500

    62.37

    +0.4%

  • AZN

    -0.2500

    65.04

    -0.38%

  • GSK

    -0.7200

    34.39

    -2.09%

  • RELX

    -0.1700

    45.95

    -0.37%

  • VOD

    -0.0700

    8.68

    -0.81%

  • RIO

    -0.1900

    60.43

    -0.31%

  • SCS

    -0.1000

    13.27

    -0.75%

  • CMSD

    -0.0050

    24.725

    -0.02%

  • BCE

    -0.3700

    26.84

    -1.38%

  • JRI

    -0.0300

    13.21

    -0.23%

  • BTI

    0.0700

    35.49

    +0.2%

  • BP

    0.4800

    29.05

    +1.65%

Europe to fore in Ukraine crisis as US warns of Russian plot

Europe to fore in Ukraine crisis as US warns of Russian plot

The leaders of Turkey and France attempted to mediate in the Ukraine crisis on Thursday as Washington announced it had evidence of a Russian plan to fake a Ukrainian attack to justify invading its neighbour.

Text size:

The shock claim from the US came as Russia accused Washington of "escalating tensions" by sending 3,000 troops to eastern Europe to counter a massive build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine's border.

Western powers have been engaged in intense diplomatic efforts to try deter a feared Russian invasion of Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron held telephone talks Thursday both with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to try defuse tensions.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip also sought to play the intermediary, offering on a visit to Kyiv to hold a Ukraine-Russia peace summit.

The scramble to head off another conflict in Ukraine comes eight years after Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula and Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine's east rose up against the pro-Western government in Kyiv.

The drama continued on Thursday with the Pentagon saying it had evidence of a plan by Moscow to film a fake Ukrainian attack on Russians to justify a real assault on its pro-West neighbour.

- 'Corpses and actors' -

"As part of this fake attack, we believe that Russia would produce a very graphic propaganda video, which would include corpses and actors that would be depicting mourners and images of destroyed locations," he said, adding that the attack would target "Russian sovereign territory" or "Russian speaking people".

The latter could refer to the sizeable Russian-speaking population inside Ukraine.

Russia has denied any plans to attack Ukraine, saying the troops in the border area are carrying out military exercises.

In his third call in a week with Macron, Putin accused Kyiv of "provocative statements and actions" and stressed Russia's demand for security guarantees, alluding to Russia's call for NATO to halt its eastward expansion.

Ukraine's leader Zelensky said his discussions with Macron focused on the festering conflict in the breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine

"Agreed on further joint steps to maintain Ukraine's stability," he said on Twitter.

Erdogan also sought to act as go-between between Russia and Ukraine.

But Russia is angry over NATO member Turkey's supply of combat drones to Kyiv.

- 'Destructive' move -

Amid the diplomatic flurry, Washington angered Moscow by announcing the new troop deployments to two of NATO's eastern members on Wednesday.

US President Joe Biden said he was sending 2,000 troops to Poland and 1,000 to Romania to "reassure our NATO allies in eastern Europe that we're there".

The Kremlin urged the US to "stop escalating tensions" and Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko warned the "destructive" move would make it harder for a compromise between the two sides.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed that no US soldiers would be sent to fight in Ukraine.

But that is unlikely to assuage Putin, who has accused the United States and NATO of seeking to "contain" Russia by placing troops and strategic arms on its border.

Putin has demanded guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO.

Russia also wants NATO and the United States to foreswear the deployment of missile systems near Russia's borders and to pull back NATO forces in eastern Europe.

Putin has left the door open to talks, saying he was studying Western proposals set out last month in response to Russia's demands, and that he hoped for a "solution".

The Kremlin also claimed it had China's support in the standoff -- backing that will be demonstrated when Putin meets President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday at the opening of the Olympics.

Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov insisted Thursday that "the probability of a significant escalation as of today is considered low" as Kyiv had not seen Moscow move "strike groups" to the border.

But tensions have been aggravated by plans for joint military exercises between Russia and neighbouring Belarus, where Washington claims Moscow is preparing to send 30,000 troops.

 

burs-del/oc/cb/har

G.Kuhn--NZN