KIEV: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered on Thursday on a visit to Kiev to hold a Ukraine-Russia summit, as EU leaders stepped up outreach to the Kremlin to defuse fears Moscow could invade.

The diplomatic offensive came as Russia accused the United States of ratcheting up “tensions” by sending 1,000 soldiers to Romania and 2,000 to Poland to bolster Nato’s eastern flank.

As Moscow refuses to pull back over 100,000 troops from Ukraine’s borders, the leaders of European powerhouses Germany and France said they were eyeing possible visits to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

French President Emmanuel Macron was set to hold his third phone call in a week with Putin later on Thursday and also talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Western powers have been engaged in intense diplomatic efforts — coupled with the threat of sanctions against Putin’s inner circle — to deter any further attack on ex-Soviet Ukraine, despite strenuous denials from Moscow.

Erdogan, who is pursuing his own diplomatic track, reaffirmed at a meeting with Zelensky his offer to host a peace summit with Putin.

The Turkish leader is looking to leverage his special relations with Putin and strong support for Kiev to set up a peace talks. Zelensky thanked him for the efforts and insisted he was “ready to do everything possible in all platforms and in all formats” to bring peace to Ukraine.

But Erdogan’s push for a sit-down has so far been stymied by Kremlin anger over Nato member Turkey’s supply of combat drones to Kiev — and the two sides on Thursday inked a fresh deal aimed at expanding drone production in Ukraine.

Amid the diplomatic flurry, Washington angered Moscow by announcing the new troop deployments to two of Nato’s eastern members.

“As long as (President Vladimir Putin) is acting aggressively, we are going to make sure we reassure our Nato allies in eastern Europe that we’re there,” President Joe Biden said on Wednesday.

The Kremlin urged the US to “stop escalating tensions” after Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko warned the “destructive” move would make it harder for a compromise between the two sides.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stressed the US troop movements were to demonstrate commitment to the Nato alliance, and that no US soldiers would be sent to fight in Ukraine.The Kremlin also claimed it had China’s support in the standoff — backing that would be demonstrated when Putin meets President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday at the opening of the Olympics.

While the United States and Britain have sounded the most strident warnings over a potential Russian attack, there are divisions over how likely it may be.

Kiev has warned against “panic” as it seeks to protect its economy and some European allies are far more guarded over the prospect of looming war.

Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov insisted on Thursday that “the probability of a significant escalation as of today is considered low” as Kyiv had not seen Moscow move “strike groups” to the border.

In a change of language, the White House said that it would no longer refer to a Russian invasion of Ukraine as “imminent” — explaining that the word implied Putin had already made a decision to attack. But tensions have been aggravated by plans for joint military exercises between Russia and neighbouring Belarus, where Washington claims Moscow is preparing to send 30,000 troops.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu held talks with strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko and troop inspections ahead of the joint drills later this month.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2022