Ukraine: Russia ‘returns some troops to base’ while diplomatic flurry aiming to avert war continues
- Russia’s Defence Ministry says some units involved in military exercises to begin returning to bases; Germany’s Scholz meets Putin in Moscow
- Ukraine ‘will only believe Russia moving to de-escalate if sees for itself Russian troops being pulled back’; other politicians on the move too
As the West warily eyed Russian troop movements near Ukraine, European leaders headed to the region Tuesday for last-minute diplomacy, buoyed by signals from the Kremlin that there was a still way to head off a feared invasion and avoid war.
Peace and security in Europe was facing a “difficult situation,” Scholz said as the talks kicked off. “The most important thing is that we manage relations between countries through good discussions with each other.”
After weeks of rising tension the tenor seemed to change on Monday, when Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated the Kremlin was ready to keep talking about the security grievances that have led to the crisis.
In what could be another sign that the Kremlin would like to lower the temperature, Russia’s Defence Ministry announced on Tuesday that some units taking part in military exercises would begin returning to their bases.