The UN Security Council will on Monday meet for the first time to discuss Russia's build-up of troops near Ukraine's border. The meeting, called at the US' request, comes amid warnings that Moscow is planning to invade the former Soviet state. Russia has repeatedly denied this but says the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO threatens its national security. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia's actions pose "a clear threat to international peace and security and the UN Charter". But Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, described recent US warnings of a possible invasion as "baseless", calling the US request for a UN meeting a "clear PR stunt". US President Joe Biden announced over the weekend that American troops "will be moved" to Eastern European NATO countries "in the near term" as Russian officials repeatedly stated that it would not start a war in Ukraine. Moscow warned that the US and NATO have ignored its demands and left little room for compromise in the crisis, with foreign minister Sergey Lavrov accusing the north Atlantic military alliance of acting in an offensive manner. Russia's foreign minister claimed on Sunday that NATO wants to pull Ukraine into the alliance, amid escalating tensions over NATO expansion and fears that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine. In comments on state television, Lavrov also challenged NATO's claim to be a purely defensive structure. NATO "has already come close to Ukraine. They also want to drag this country there," Lavrov said. "Although everyone understands that Ukraine is not ready and could make no contribution to strengthening NATO security." Lavrov also underlined Russia's contention that NATO expansion is a threat because it has engaged in offensive actions outside its member countries. "It is difficult to call it defensive," Lavrov said. "Do not forget that they [...] invaded Libya, violating the U.N. Security Council resolution, and how they behaved in Afghanistan." Russia has long resented NATO's granting membership to countries that were once part of the Soviet Union or were in its sphere of influence as members of the Warsaw Pact. Ukraine has sought membership in the alliance for years, but any prospects of joining appear far off as the country struggles to find political stability and attack corruption. The US and NATO have formally rejected Russia's demands about halting NATO expansion, although Washington outlined areas where discussions are possible, offering hope that there could be a way to avoid war. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made no public remarks about the Western response. Lavrov has said it leaves little chance for reaching an agreement, though he also says Russia doesn't want war. The head of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, also rejected Western warnings about a planned invasion. "At this time, they're saying that Russia threatens Ukraine — that's completely ridiculous," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Tass. "We don't want war and we don't need it at all." Russia said on Saturday night it will relocate naval exercises off the coast of Ireland after Dublin raised concerns about them. The 3-8 February exercises were to be held 240 kilometres off the coast of southwestern Ireland — in international waters but within Ireland's exclusive economic zone. Earlier last week, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney objected to the war games, saying, "This isn't a time to increase military activity and tension in the context of what's happening with and in Ukraine." "The fact that they are choosing to do it on the western borders, if you like, of the EU, off the Irish coast, is something that in our view is simply not welcome." Russia's embassy in Ireland on Saturday posted a letter on Facebook from Ambassador Yuriy Filatov saying the exercises would be relocated outside of the Irish economic zone "with the aim not to hinder fishing activities" — a rare concession amid the tensions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the West to remain calm over the tensions with Russia, in spite of the suspicions that it plans to invade his country. "There are no tanks in the streets. But media give the impression, if one is not here, that we have a war, that we have army in the streets... That's not the case," the Ukrainian leader said during a news conference for foreign media on Friday afternoon. "We don't need this panic," Zelenskyy exclaimed, "We need to stabilise the economy." He was speaking as diplomatic efforts continued to defuse the crisis brought by the build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine's borders. The temperature has been cranked up a notch since Wednesday when Washington and NATO both rejected Moscow's demands for security guarantees in Europe. "The probability of the attack exists, it has not disappeared and it was not less serious in 2021," but "we do not see a higher escalation than the one which existed last year," Zelenskyy said. The president chided international media and "even respected heads of state", who would have people believe that there was already a war all over the country, "that there are troops advancing on the roads. But that's not the case," he added. "The responses of the United States and NATO have not taken account of Russia's fundamental concerns," the Kremlin said following an hour-long phone call on Friday between Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. "The key question has been ignored, namely how the US and their allies count on... putting into practice the principle according to which no-one should reinforce its security to the detriment of other countries," the Russian president said, according to the Kremlin statement. — Agencies
