Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there were no signs Russia had withdrawn troops from its border with Ukraine. Photo: EPA
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there were no signs Russia had withdrawn troops from its border with Ukraine. Photo: EPA
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there were no signs Russia had withdrawn troops from its border with Ukraine. Photo: EPA
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there were no signs Russia had withdrawn troops from its border with Ukraine. Photo: EPA

Ukraine: Nato tells Russia it's 'not too late' to step back from the brink


Jamie Prentis
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine

Nato told Russia it is not too late to “step back from the brink” at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine and prevent war in eastern Europe.

Jens Stoltenberg, the head of Nato, insisted that the military alliance was ready to “engage in a substantive dialogue” with Russia to address its security concerns, reduce the threat of conflict in Ukraine and find common ground.

But the Nato chief said that there were no signs of a Russian troop withdrawal from its border with Ukraine, despite claims to the contrary from Moscow.

“On the contrary, Russia's military build-up continues,” Mr Stoltenberg told the Munich Security Conference.

The US said that Russia has as many as 190,000 soldiers on its border with Ukraine, leading to fears in many western capitals that an invasion is imminent.

Moscow issued a series of security demands to Nato, many of which were rejected out of hand, while diplomatic efforts to calm tensions made little progress.

Russia denies it is planning to invade Ukraine and accuses Nato of provocation.

“These are dangerous days for Europe. Russia has relentlessly massed troops in the biggest military build-up since the Cold War. We do not know what will happen but the risk for conflict is real,” Mr Stoltenberg said.

“We call on Russia to do what it says and withdraw its forces from the borders of Ukraine. This will be an important first step towards a peaceful solution. It is not too late for Russia to change course, to step back from the brink, stop preparing for war, and start working for a peaceful solution.”

Russia has demanded that Nato withdraw its troops from Eastern Europe – including former Soviet states – and stop Ukraine from joining the military alliance. Both proposals were rejected by Nato.

Mr Stoltenberg said in Munich that there was no such thing as “first-class members” of Nato in the west of the alliance, and “second-class members” to the east.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the West was ready to negotiate over Russia's security demands “without being naive".

“We will differentiate clearly between untenable demands and legitimate security interests,” he said.

Also speaking in Munich was European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who told Moscow that its thinking from “a dark past” could cost Russia a prosperous future.

“The world has been watching in disbelief as we face the largest build-up of troops on European soil since the darkest days of the Cold War, because the events of these days could reshape the entire international order,” she said.

Which products are to be taxed?

To be taxed:

Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category

Not taxed

Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.

Products excluded from the ‘sweetened drink’ category would contain at least 75 per cent milk in a ready-to-drink form or as a milk substitute, baby formula, follow-up formula or baby food, beverages consumed for medicinal use and special dietary needs determined as per GCC Standardisation Organisation rules

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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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While you're here
T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat

Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain

Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain

Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines

Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals

Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final

UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia

All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv

The Farewell

Director: Lulu Wang

Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma

Four stars

The biog

Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah

Date of birth: 15 November, 1951

Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”

Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry

THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

Results

4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Emblem Storm, Oisin Murphy (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).

4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Wildman Jack, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill.

5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.

6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Matterhorn, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.

7.30pm: Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Loxley, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

Key facilities
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  • Premier League-standard football pitch
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20EduPloyment%3Cbr%3EDate%20started%3A%20March%202020%3Cbr%3ECo-Founders%3A%20Mazen%20Omair%20and%20Rana%20Batterjee%3Cbr%3EBase%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Recruitment%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2030%20employees%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20Pre-Seed%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Angel%20investors%20(investment%20amount%20undisclosed)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Name: Brendalle Belaza

From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines

Arrived in the UAE: 2007

Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus

Favourite photography style: Street photography

Favourite book: Harry Potter

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Have you been targeted?

Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:

1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.

2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.

3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.

4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.

5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.

Updated: February 19, 2022, 10:58 AM`