UNITED NATIONS (AP) \u2014 The United States and Russia are squaring off at the U.N. Security Council over Ukraine, with Washington calling Moscow\u2019s actions a threat to international peace and security, while a Kremlin envoy ridiculed Monday\u2019s meeting as a \u201cPR stunt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The session kicks off more high-level diplomacy this week, although talks between the U.S. and Russia have so far failed to ease tensions in the crisis. Russia has massed an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine\u2019s borders, stoking fears in the West of an invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia\u00a0denies it intends to launch an attack\u00a0but demanded that NATO promise never to allow Ukraine to join the alliance, halt the deployment of NATO weapons near Russian borders, and roll back its forces from Eastern Europe. NATO and the U.S. call those demands impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken didn\u2019t make any visible progress in easing the tensions at their meeting in Geneva earlier this month. They are expected to speak by phone Tuesday, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. President Joe Biden warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call Thursday that there is a \u201cdistinct possibility\u201d Russia could begin an incursion in February, but the Ukrainian leader sought to play down the war fears, saying Western alarm over an imminent invasion has prompted many investors in the country\u2019s financial markets to cash out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zelenskyy said Friday that \u201cwe aren\u2019t seeing any escalation bigger than before,\u201d and charged that the Russian buildup could be an attempt by Moscow to exert \u201cpsychological pressure\u201d and sow panic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit Ukraine on Tuesday for talks with Zelenskyy, and will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin later Monday, to urge him to \u201cstep back,\u201d Johnson\u2019s office said. Johnson says he is considering sending hundreds of British troops to NATO countries in the Baltic region as a show of strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that \u201chysteria promoted by Washington triggers hysteria in Ukraine, where people are almost starting to pack their bags for the front line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Russia could try to block the Security Council meeting if it gets the support of nine of the 15 members, the U.S. was confident it had \u201cmore than sufficient support\u201d to hold it, according to a senior official in the Biden administration who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any formal action by the Security Council is extremely unlikely, given Russia\u2019s veto power and its ties with others on the council, including China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia\u2019s actions pose \u201ca clear threat to international peace and security and the U.N. Charter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking Sunday on ABC\u2019s \u201cThis Week,\u201d Thomas-Greenfield said: \u201dWe\u2019re going into the room prepared to listen to them, but we\u2019re not going to be distracted by their propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said last week that council members \u201cmust squarely examine the facts and consider what is at stake for Ukraine, for Russia, for Europe, and for the core obligations and principles of the international order should Russia further invade Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia\u2019s deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky tweeted that he hoped other Security Council members \u201cwill not support this clear PR stunt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Assuming the meeting goes ahead, the council will first hear a briefing by a senior U.N. official followed by statements from its 15 members including Russia, the United States and European members France, Ireland, United Kingdom and Albania. Under council rules, Ukraine will also speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China\u2019s U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun indicated Beijing supports Moscow in opposing a council meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBoth sides have shown willingness to continue their negotiations,\u201d he told several reporters on Friday. \u201cLet them settle the differences through dialogue, through negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRussia has said clearly they have no intention to have a war\u201d and the Security Council should \u201chelp to deescalate the situation instead of adding fuel to the fire,\u201d Zhang said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ireland\u2019s U.N. ambassador, said her country wants to see calm prevail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe want to see de-escalation, diplomacy and dialogue,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sunday, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez, said that in the event of an attack, lawmakers want Russia to face \u201cthe mother of all sanctions.\u201d That includes\u00a0actions against Russian banks that could severely undermine the Russian economy and increased lethal aid\u00a0to Ukraine\u2019s military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sanctions under consideration would apparently be significantly stronger than those imposed after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Those penalties have been seen as ineffective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Menendez also raised the prospect of imposing some punishments preemptively, before any invasion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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