That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Friday, April 27, 2018. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
New U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had harsh words for Moscow as he visited Brussels for a NATO foreign ministers meeting on April 27, as NATO alliance members put on a united front in an effort to counter Russian “aggression” conducted through military actions, cyberattacks, and other means.
“We had a lot of discussions on how to push back on Russia,” said Pompeo, who was sworn in one day earlier as the top U.S. diplomat. “The choice is really up to [President] Vladimir Putin and the Russians.”
“We would love nothing more than to have them rejoin…the democratic world and behave in ways they are not doing today,” he said.
“Russia threatens allies and partners, both militarily -- as seen through its invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 -- and through an aggressive campaign to undermine Western institutions.
“In light of Russia’s unacceptable actions, NATO is more indispensable than ever,” he said.
Pompeo also addressed charges by Britain that Russia was behind a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent earlier this year in the city of Salisbury.
“As NATO allies agree, the use of military grade nerve agent developed by Russia on U.K. territory was a reckless action that put the lives of innocent civilians at risk,” he said.
He added that Washington does not believe in returning to “business as usual” until Moscow “shows a clear change of its actions and complies with international law.”
A senior State Department official earlier told reporters in the Belgian capital that there was a “consensus” among NATO foreign ministers “on Russian aggression, the scale of Russian aggression, and this being a problem that requires a response."
In other comments, Pompeo reiterated the United States’ commitment to NATO’s Article 5, which states that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
But he also restated Trump’s demand that European allies must “bear the necessary responsibilities for their security” and meet stated goals of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense.
When asked if Germany was doing enough, Pompeo said in a one-word response: "No.” He later added that “they should meet the goals that they agreed to."
In response to a question from a Ukrainian reporter, he said there had been “some discussion” on Ukraine’s “potential entry to be a NATO partner,” but that “there is much work to do along the way to achieve that.”
More here.