WASHINGTON, February 17. /TASS/. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with his French, German and UK counterparts in Brussels to discuss diplomatic engagements with Russia and the need to ease tension in the situation around Ukraine, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday.
"Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with his counterparts in the Euro Quad: French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly, German Federal Minister of Defense Christine Lambrecht, and UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace in Brussels, Belgium," he said. "The leaders discussed recent diplomatic engagements with Russia and the need for Russian de-escalation. They expressed their support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The four leaders agreed on the importance of NATO unity to deter Russia, reassure Allies on NATO’s Eastern Flank, and to uphold the rules-based international order."
Apart from that, according to Kirby, Austin had a separate meeting with Lambrecht to discuss "their grave concerns over Russia’s concerning military build-up in and around Ukraine." Along with that, they touched upon issues of containing Russia, defense purchases and the situation in the Ido-Pacific region.
The West and Kiev have recently been echoing allegations about Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded", serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such claims and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences.