NATO's chief has welcomed signals that Russia may be looking for a diplomatic solution amid a military build-up on Ukraine's border but urged Moscow to demonstrate its will to act.
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"There are signs from Moscow that diplomacy should continue. This gives grounds for cautious optimism. But so far we have not seen any sign of de-escalation on the ground from the Russian side", NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of a two-day meeting of the alliance's defence ministers in Brussels.
"Russia has amassed a fighting force in and around Ukraine unprecedented since the cold war.
"Everything is now in place for a new attack.
"But Russia still has time to step back from the brink, stop preparing for war and start working for a peaceful solution."
Stoltenberg said the current situation was the "most serious security crisis we have faced in Europe for decades".
Australian Associated Press
