(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) WASHINGTON, July 27 (KUNA) -- The US on Wednesday condemned Russia's plans to increase military presence on its southwestern front, saying this would "run contrary" to efforts to stop violence in Eastern Ukraine.
"This would appear to run contrary to ongoing efforts to stop violence and to de-escalate the tensions in Eastern Ukraine in line with Russia's commitments under Minsk (Agreement)," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a briefing.
"We expect Russia to fulfill any relevant commitments under exists arms control and confidence building agreements, such as the OSCE's (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Vienna document," he added.
Over reports that part of this build up includes Russian troops in Crimea, he underlined that "Crimea is and always will remain part of Ukraine." The US official went on to "condemn and call for an immediate end to the Russian occupation of Crimea," highlighting that related sanctions "will remain in place as long as the occupation continues.
"We are not going to allow, as we said many times before, the borders of Europe to be redrawn at the barrel of a gun," he underlined.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on state TV that Moscow has deployed further aerial missile defence capabilities in the southwest and troops in Crimea. (end) sd.hb