Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to answer questions posed by journalists on Tuesday, according to the Kremlin, as fears grow that Moscow is planning to invade Ukraine.
The massing of 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders, coupled with Moscow’s demands for NATO “security guarantees’’ have led to a flurry of diplomatic activity, without producing a significant breakthrough.
However, Russia denied that it is planning to invade.
Putin’s press conference is planned after his meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Interfax news agency, without stating a time.
Orbán and Putin plan to discuss security among other issues.
He is the first prime minister from an EU and NATO member state to meet Putin face-to-face since the current crisis broke out.
Since November, the U.S. and Europe have been sounding the alarm about a large build-up of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, prompting fears that Moscow was planning a military offensive that would dramatically escalate the simmering conflict between the two nations.
Armed conflict between Ukraine and the pro-Russian separatists broke out in 2014 but has since turned into a stalemate with regular eruptions of shelling and skirmishes.
Earlier, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi spoke with Putin.
During their call, Putin demanded that Ukraine fulfil its obligations under the Minsk peace agreement, including planned special status for the breakaway eastern Ukrainian territories of Donetsk and Lunhansk, collectively called the Donbas region, according to a Kremlin statement.
Draghi called for de-escalation, according to a statement issued by Rome. (dpa/NAN)
