Russia accuses NATO of destabilizing post-Soviet states

Russia on Thursday accused NATO of destabilizing post-Soviet states and a number of Western countries of militarizing Ukraine to fuel the ongoing escalation between the country and the West.

Following a phone call between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement.

Lavrov argued that the de-stabilizing nature of NATO's actions in the post-Soviet states and militarization of Ukraine led to the ongoing escalation, according to the statement.

For de-escalation, Kyiv should be demanded to comply with the Minsk agreements and agreements reached within the framework of the Normandy format and the Trilateral Contact Group, he told Di Maio.

The statement added that Russian efforts to provide long-term legal guarantees of security in Europe based on the implementation of the generally recognized principle of the indivisibility of security were also discussed by the two ministers.

Russia recently amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that the Kremlin could be planning another military offensive against its former Soviet neighbor.

Moscow has denied that it is preparing to invade and said its troops are there for exercises.

The Kremlin also issued a list of security demands from the West, including a rolling back of troop deployments to some ex-Soviet states and guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia will not join NATO.