The U.S. and Russia engaged in a public diplomatic brawl Monday at the U.N. Security Council over the Ukraine crisis, New York Times reports.
The Americans, backed by their Western allies, accused Russia of endangering peace and destabilizing global security by massing more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders. Kremlin diplomats dismissed what they called baseless and hysterical U.S. fearmongering aimed at weakening Russia and provoking armed conflict.
The Council meeting of 15 nations, requested by the U.S. last week, represented the highest-profile arena for the two powers to sway world opinion over Ukraine. As expected, it adjourned with no action taken.
Remarks: Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador, said that “Russia’s actions strike at the very heart of the U.N. charter.” Russia objected to having the meeting at all, calling it “an attempt to mislead the international community” and an example of “megaphone diplomacy.”
Where things stand: More than a month of bluster and posturing, menacing military maneuvers and high-level diplomatic meetings have not made the security crisis gripping Europe any easier to assess. A full-scale invasion would be likely to result in fierce fighting and potentially the worst bloodshed on the continent since the end of World War II.
On the ground: A wave of bomb threats across Ukraine has intensified an already anxious mood.