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NATO Chief: Russia Violating Ukraine Cease-fire

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NATO says Russia is violating a truce in eastern Ukraine by sending in convoys with advanced weapons and personnel reinforcements for pro-Russia separatists fighting Ukrainian government troops.

“We see a significant military buildup in and around Ukraine… large transfers of Russian advanced weapons, equipment and military personnel to violent separatists,” Jens Stoltenberg, secretary-general of the alliance, told a news conference in Brussels on Monday, Dec 1.

The statement comes a day after Kyiv accused Moscow of sending an “unauthorized” convoy of 106 trucks into rebel-held territory in Ukraine’s east. Russia claims the convoy carried humanitarian aid. Ukraine says it was a ruse to ship in weapons, ammunition and personnel.

Stoltenberg said that Russia’s actions were in violation of a cease-fire agreement reached in early September in Minsk, Belarus.

“Russia is fueling the conflict by providing… equipment and other kinds of support for the separatists and thereby undermining and violating the cease-fire and also the efforts to create a peaceful, negotiated solution,” he said.

Russia denies Ukrainian and Western accusations that it has sent troops or military equipment to support separatist rebels.

Stoltenberg spoke ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, planned for Tuesday. The meeting is to discuss the situation in Ukraine and review steps the 28-nation alliance can take to boost its own defenses.

Russia, meanwhile, accused NATO of trying to destabilize northern Europe by conducting “endless military exercises” and transferring aircraft “capable of carrying nuclear arms” to the Baltic states.

The three Baltic states – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – are NATO members.

Russia plans more drills

Russia said on Monday it would conduct more than 4,000 military exercises next year, 1,000 more than in 2014. The largest are to involve “tens of thousands of soldiers.”

“They will… bring together under unified command tens of thousands of servicemen of the Central Military District, branches and types of the armed forces, as well as other security ministries and agencies,” said Yaroslav Roshupkin, a spokesman for Russia’s Central Military District.

He added that the drills will take place during the summer “simultaneously on several training grounds within Russia and abroad” and that new weapons would be tested during the exercises.

Ukraine seeks lethal aid

Meanwhile, Kyiv is calling on Europe and the United States to begin supplying arms to Ukraine’s military to help it counter steady violations of a truce by pro-Russia rebels in the east.

The call was made by Ukraine’s foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin, who in an interview with Reuters said that while the cease-fire was being violated daily, it remained the best blueprint for ending violence in which more than 4,300 people have died since mid-April.

Klimkin voiced disagreement with warnings that Ukraine receiving outside lethal assistance would escalate the conflict.

“It is a mistake by our European and American partners to say providing weapons and military technical assistance would create the potential for escalation, said Klimkin, adding that “on the contrary, it would be an important step towards de-escalating the situation because no one would go further if Ukrainian military forces get stronger.”

Ukraine has been receiving mostly non-lethal assistance from other countries.

In economic developments, the Russian ruble looked set for its steepest one-day fall since the financial crisis of 1998, plunging about 4 percent on Monday as oil prices slid below $70 a barrel.

Battered by low oil prices and the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the ruble has been declining throughout the year, losing about 42 percent of this value since January.

On Monday, the Russian currency fell for a third straight day, to 52.45 against the dollar and 65.39 against the euro, hitting fresh record lows.

The price of oil, the backbone of the Russian economy, has dropped roughly 25 percent since the summer. Brent crude, an international benchmark, fell 3 percent on Friday and was down another 1 percent on Monday to $69.47 a barrel, following a decision by OPEC last week to leave its output target unchanged.

OPEC’s shock decision means markets are increasingly pricing in the likelihood of cheap oil for an extended period, causing a fundamental reassessment of Russian asset prices, analysts said.

Oil and gas account for about two-thirds of Russia’s exports and half of federal budget revenues, making its economy and asset prices heavily dependent on global energy prices.

”In the short term, the Russian market is a victim of OPEC’s apparent decision to reduce the volume of high-cost production through lower prices,” Moscow-based investment bank Sberbank CIB said in a morning note. “The market and the ruble will not stabilize until oil does.”

Russian monetary officials sought to assuage fears of a ruble free fall.

Ksenia Yudayeva, deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank, told Russian news agencies on Monday there is enough currency liquidity in the market and that the Central Bank has prepared new economic forecasts based on a price of $60 per barrel.

On the diplomatic front,  Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Turkey Monday to discuss a broad range of issues concerning the two countries, including trade, economics and energy. Syria is also high on the list.

On his arrival in Ankara, Putin received the full trappings of a state visit. The presidential convoy was escorted by mounted horsemen and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed Putin at the palace gates.

Diplomatic columnist Semih Idiz of the Turkish newspaper Taraf and Al Monitor website said the visit is important to both leaders.

“It’s significant from the Russia point of view coming at a time when its isolated because of Ukraine, and it also significant for Turkey,” Idiz said. “As you know President Erdogan is projecting a negative image at the moment, and this gives the ability for him to say he has high-level friends, so in terms of image it’s important.”

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