Nato Summit 2014: David Cameron warns Russia of tightening economic …

David Cameron has warned Russia that it faces tightening economic sanctions unless it ends its destabilisation of Ukraine, as world leaders gather for the start of the Nato Summit in Wales.

As Nato leaders meet at the Celtic Manor, the Prime Minister said the presence of Russian troops on Ukrainian soil was unacceptable.

He warned President Vladimir Putin that Western nations were ready to step up their pressure on the Russian economy if Moscow did not pull back.

“It is making a difference. The Russian economy was growing, it is now shrinking. Russian banks – some of them are getting short of money. The Russian stock market, the rouble, have suffered,” he told BBC1 Breakfast.

“What Russia needs to understand is that if they continue with this approach. In Ukraine, this pressure will be ramped up.

“The Ukrainians know that they have our support and this sanctions pressure is the right way to tell the Russians that what they are doing is unacceptable.”

In a clear show of support for the government in Kyiv, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko is attending the summit which is taking place amid tight security at the Celtic Manor resort complex.


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With former Soviet bloc neighbours of Russia – like the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – fearing they could be the next targets of Russian aggression, Mr Cameron and US president Barack Obama made clear that an attack on any one member would be resisted by the whole alliance.

“With Russia trying to force a sovereign state to abandon its right to democracy and determining the course of its future at the barrel of a gun, we should support Ukraine’s right to determine its own democratic future and continue our efforts to enhance Ukrainian capabilities,” they said in a joint article for The Times.

“We must use our military to ensure a persistent presence in Eastern Europe, reassuring Nato members in Eastern Europe and making clear to Russia that we will always uphold our … commitments to collective self-defence.”


 

Last night French president Francois Hollande bowed to months of pressure from fellow allies with the announcement that he was suspending the delivery of the first of two giant Mistral class helicopters destined for the Russian navy.

At the summit, Nato leaders are expected to agree to the formation of a new high-readiness “spearhead” force able to deploy “several thousand” troops – backed by naval and air support – within a matter of days in response to a crisis.

The alliance is also planning to establish forward operating bases in eastern Europe where fuel, ammunition and other supplies can by stockpiled ready for use in operations.

With Britain and the US two of only four member states to meet the alliance’s obligation to spend 2% of GDP on defence, Mr Cameron and Mr Obama will be pressing other leaders to raise their spending on their armed forces.

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