Moscow says it wants peace but has placed gun on the table: US envoy

He says Russian troop build-up on border with Ukraine is threatening

Russia says it does not want war but has placed a “gun on the table” in its negotiations with the United States by massing troops on Ukraine’s borders, US Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan said yesterday.

Mr Sullivan described the buildup of tens of thousands of Russian troops as “extraordinary” and that it could not be explained away as an ordinary military exercise.

“It’s the equivalent of if you and I were having a discussion... If I put a gun on the table and say that I come in peace, that’s threatening,” he said. “We hope that the Russian government is true to its word, and does not plan to, and will not, further invade Ukraine. But the facts suggest that it has the present ability to do that.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier yesterday that Moscow was not seeking war.

The head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, Mr Bruno Kahl, said that while Russia was prepared to attack Ukraine, it had not yet decided whether to do so.