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would be “an extremely undesirable scenario that would make everything even more difficult.”

Moscow said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was still ready for talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine’s two separatist regions. “Even during the most difficult moments… we say: we are ready for negotiations,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in remarks aired on YouTube.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday that he was suspending the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project with Russia in response to Moscow’s recognition of two breakaway regions in Ukraine. Scholz said he had ordered a halt to the review process by the German regulator for the pipeline, seen by Western partners and Kyiv as a crucial bargaining chip in the increasingly fraught standoff with Russia.

“That sounds technical, but it is the necessary administrative step so there can be no certification of the pipeline and without this certification, Nord Stream 2 cannot begin operating,” he said.

The conflict between Ukraine and Russia reached new heights with Russian president Vladimir Putin signing an order which recognized the separatist-held Donetsk and Luhansk. This signing was followed by an announcement that said that Russian troops would enter the region as peacekeeping forces. The announcements have rattled the US and its NATO allies as many fear that this will bring the biggest security crisis threat Europe has faced since the end of the Cold War or even the second World War.

The US was swift in its condemnation followed by major European democracies like France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Nations from the world’s so-called eastern hemispheres also chimed in with Australia and Japan condemning the sudden escalation.

The US has called the notion of sending peacekeeping troops a ‘nonsensical’ move. Russia defended its move saying that the Ukrainian government failed to recognise the sentiments of its citizens in the southern and eastern parts of Ukraine.

The United Nations also condemned the move. India at the United Nations Security Council called for restraint and asked all parties to join discussions to resolve the crisis in a diplomatic manner.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK will hit Russia with a first barrage of economic sanctions, warning that President Vladimir Putin is fixed on a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine”. He was speaking soon after chairing an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Office Briefing Room A (COBRA) on Tuesday in the wake of Putin’s decision to recognise two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. The UK PM accused Putin of “plainly” violating Ukrainian sovereignty and “the over-running, the subjugation of an independent, sovereign European country.

Indian envoy to the UN TS Tirumurti also said that safety of Indians in Kyiv and in other places of Ukraine is of paramount importance. New Delhi will send a repatriation flight shortly to Kyiv to help stranded Indians return home.

(with inputs from agencies)

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