HEADLINE: “Russia Accuses Ukraine of Training Islamic State Fighters, and Threatens Sanctions | New York Times”
CATEGORY: politics, international
TAGS: russia-ukraine-tensions, sanctions, geopolitics, ukraine, russia, europe, islamic state
Russia has accused Ukraine of orchestrating a smuggling operation that has facilitated the recruitment of thousands of Islamic State fighters, a seriously alleged breach that raises tensions between the bitter neighbors and has led President Vladimir Putin to warn that Moscow could respond with stepped-up sanctions.
Key international mediators in efforts to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine, including Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Francois Hollande of France, have called for “maximum restraint” and declared that no one should “exploit” anti-Islamic sentiment among their populations.
Montreux, Switzerland: Thousands of people, including Russians, descend on a beach on the shores of Lake Geneva to celebrate Russian culture.
Mr. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said that a senior Russian security official would present information at a security conference in Munich that would “conclusively put an end to speculation about the wherein and why” of the allegations.
But the claim already has touched on one of the rawest nerves in Russian society, shaping public opinion during a time of heightened anxiety about Islam and displaced Muslims, and underscoring Moscow’s disdain for Western views on the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
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