Russia continues military buildup around Ukraine, there is no de-escalation - Stoltenberg

The North Atlantic Alliance does not yet see signs of de-escalation from Russia on the Ukrainian border. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg before a ministerial meeting in Brussels, - European Pravda reports.

"We have heard from Moscow about the readiness to continue diplomatic efforts, but so far we do not see any de-escalation on the ground. On the contrary, it seems that Russia is continuing its military buildup", - Stoltenberg said.

He added that the statements made yesterday from Moscow give grounds for cautious optimism, because it was a message about diplomacy.

"But at the same time, we do not see any withdrawal of Russian forces. And this contradicts the statements about diplomatic efforts. So it is necessary to see if there will really be a Russian withdrawal, we are closely monitoring the situation around Ukraine. And we see that they are increasing the number of troops, therefore, there is no de-escalation so far", - Stoltenberg said.