Spanish Foreign Minister Speaks Out Against Preventive Sanctions on Russia

KIEV(Sputnik) – Western countries should abandon sanctions on Russia over Ukraine since the main focus is now on a diplomatic rather than military resolution of the crisis, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Wednesday.

"The situation itself is tense enough to create even more tension or create some kind of assumption", Albares said at a press conference in Kiev following talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, when asked about the possibility of imposing sanctions on Moscow as a preventive measure ahead of an alleged military action by Russia.

The parties should direct all efforts at de-escalation through diplomatic dialogue, taking into account that no one is actually preparing for war so a military scenario is not inevitable, the minister added.

Fearless Guardian - 2015 Ukrainian-US drills

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Moscow has repeatedly dismissed Western allegations of its intention to invade Ukraine with troops it has allegedly been amassing near the common border, adding that Western information “hysteria” seems to be a cover for Kiev’s plans to sabotage the Minsk agreements on the conflict in the breakaway region of Donbass.

In addition, Russia has expressed concern over NATO's activities near its borders, which it deems to be a threat to national security, as well as military assistance to Ukraine by Western nations.