Russia must face consequences of its action in Ukraine: NATO

They asserted that the annexation of Crimea was illegal and illegitimate

NATO has said Russia should face the consequences of its military action in Ukraine, asserting that the annexation of Crimea through a "so-called referendum held at gunpoint is illegal and illegitimate".

"The Russian behavior must have consequences. I mean, when I study the founding documents that create the framework for our partnership with Russia, I can see Russia in blatant breach of all the fundamental principles," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said yesterday.

In view of the Russian actions in Ukraine, Rasmussen, while addressing a meeting, said NATO has also taken measures to strengthen its readiness.

"They include more assets for our Baltic air policing mission, surveillance flights over Poland and Romania, and heightened awareness. Allies have taken further steps to impose diplomatic and economic consequences. These are not our preferred choice. They are inevitable and appropriate consequences of Russia's choices," he said.

'"Russia's military aggression in Ukraine is in blatant breach of its international commitments, and it is a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Rasmussen said.

"The annexation of Crimea through a so-called referendum held at gunpoint is illegal and illegitimate, and it undermines all efforts to find a peaceful political solution. This is a wake-up call for the Euro-Atlantic community, for NATO, and for all those committed to a Europe whole, free and at peace," he said.

Observing that NATO countries cannot take its security for granted, Rasmussen said this was the gravest threat to European security and stability since the end of the Cold War.

"First, because of its scale, with one of the largest movement of troops for many decades; second, because of the stakes: the freedom of 45 million people and their right to make their own choice; and third, because this crisis is right on NATO's border," he said.

Noting that Ukraine cannot be viewed in isolation, and this crisis is not just about Ukraine, he said this be called 21st-century revisionism: attempts to turn back the clock, to draw new dividing lines on our map, to monopolise markets, shuffle populations, rewrite or simply rip up the international rulebook, and to use force to solve problems rather than the international mechanisms that we have spent decades to build.

"We had thought that such behavior had been confined to history, but it's back, and it's dangerous because it violates international norms of accepted behavior. It exports instability, it reduces the potential to cooperate and build trust, and ultimately it undermines our security. Not just NATO's or Ukraine's security, but also Russia's," he said.