There are fears Vladimir Putin intends for the talks to fail to create a pretext for war - with a Ukrainian source saying they expect any Russian attack would be intense but limited.
Summary
- That was the warning from Jens Stoltenberg, the head of the NATO alliance, which is braced for the possibility of a further Russian invasion of the vast eastern European state.
- A fear among western diplomats is that President Putin intends for the talks to fail to create a pretext for war, eight years on from his annexation of Crimea and the backing of an insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
- This combination of factors could motivate Russia’s president to take greater risk on Ukraine as he thinks about his legacy, the military expert said.
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- Such reinforcements could also increase the risk of a mistake or a miscalculation by either side that would place NATO and Russia one-step closer to a direct confrontation.