Germany accuses Russia of 'Cold War demands' before Security Conference

Germany accused Russia on Friday (Feb 18) of endangering Europe's security with demands that recall the Cold War, as Western leaders arrived for a Munich Security Conference set to be dominated by the Ukraine crisis.Fears are growing in the West that Russia is on the verge of invading its neighbor, with the United States warning of a possible attack in the "coming days". Ahead of the annual, three-day conference's opening ceremony, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Moscow needed to show "serious steps towards de-escalation".

"With an unprecedented deployment of troops on the border with Ukraine and Cold War demands, Russia is challenging fundamental principles of the European peace order," Baerbock said in a statement.Russian troops have all but encircled Ukraine during the Kremlin's stand-off with the West over NATO's expansion into Eastern Europe.Before travelling to Munich, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the United Nations to expect an offensive in the "coming days", likely preceded by a pretext to justify military action.

Some feared such a moment had arrived on Thursday, when a spike in shelling on the front line damaged an eastern Ukrainian kindergarten and Russian-backed separatists blamed Kyiv for escalating hostilities. Russia has denied any invasion plans. But the Kremlin has also said it could be forced to respond militarily if Washington does not meet certain security demands.

Moscow has so far declined to attend the Munich gathering, but the United States said Blinken would meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov next week - provided no invasion had occurred before then."It is a loss that Russia is not taking advantage of this opportunity," Baerbock said.She added that the conference offered a chance "to discuss how we can still counter the logic of threats of violence and military escalation with the logic of dialogue".