By James Marson
MOSCOW--Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed an escalation in
violence in eastern Ukraine on the pro-Western government in Kiev,
taking a hard line as U.S. and European leaders said they could
tighten sanctions against Moscow unless it reins in pro-Russia
militants there.
At an emergency meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization
representatives with the Ukrainian ambassador on Monday, all 28
member countries expressed support for Ukraine, but no decisions
were reached on additional action, which usually takes a meeting of
higher-level officials. NATO defense ministers are meeting next
week in Brussels.
"Just the meeting today...is a strong sign of the strong
political support from NATO and all NATO allies for Ukraine," said
Jens Stoltenberg, the group's secretary-general.
Mr. Putin, in his first comments since a rocket attack killed 30
civilians in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Saturday, said
on Monday that Ukraine wasn't pursuing peace and had used a
cease-fire to regroup for attacks on pro-Russia forces that have
declared separatist republics in the country's east.
"Unfortunately, official Kiev authorities are refusing to go
down the path of peaceful resolution, don't want to seek a solution
through political methods," Mr. Putin said in St. Petersburg.
The Kremlin said Monday evening that Mr. Putin spoke by
telephone with French President François Hollande and German
Chancellor Angela Merkel, calling for talks between the Kiev
government and representatives of the separatist regions. Ukraine
has in the past refused direct government talks with the militants
for fear of giving them legitimacy.
Ukraine has blamed the upsurge in violence on the Russia-backed
rebels, who have said they are trying to expand the territory under
their control despite a peace deal signed in the Belarusian capital
of Minsk in September.
Mr. Putin's comments signal further Russian defiance amid
threats of new Western sanctions, which he has portrayed as an
attempt to weaken Moscow.
On Monday, he accused the West of using Ukrainian forces to try
to contain Russia. "In essence, it's not an army but a foreign
legion, in this case a foreign NATO legion, which is of course not
pursuing Ukraine's national interests. There are different aims,
and they are connected with the geopolitical aim of containing
Russia," Mr. Putin said.
Mr. Stoltenberg dismissed the assertion. "There is no NATO
legion. The foreign forces in Ukraine are Russian. I think that
is...the problem--that there are Russian forces in Ukraine, and
Russia backs the separatists with equipment."
Mr. Putin has repeatedly denied accusations by the West and
Ukraine that Russia is supporting rebels with weapons and troops.
He described the conflict in eastern Ukraine as "civil war," and
said Russia could allow Ukrainians to stay in Russia for longer
than currently permitted to avoid being drafted.
The recent upsurge in violence is the most serious since the
peace accord was signed. A Ukrainian security spokesman said seven
servicemen had been killed and 25 injured in the 24 hours through
early Monday.
Western leaders are weighing tighter sanctions against Russia
unless it curbs the separatists.
The Kremlin is already under pressure from financial troubles
amid sanctions and the recent plunge in price of crude oil, its
main export. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Monday
downgraded Russia's sovereign-credit rating to junk for the first
time in more than a decade.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said there was "no
reason to dramatize the situation," noting that Russia would have
to lose its investment-grade rating from no fewer than two agencies
before foreign investors would pull out of the country's assets,
Russian news agencies reported.
Russia's battered ruble plunged on the news of the downgrade in
after-hours trading, bringing its slide against the dollar on
Monday to 7%.
"We have more tools. I'm not today going to enumerate what the
tools are, but we have more tools," U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob
Lew said in Brussels on Monday. "Our goal here is to have a
diplomatic resolution where Russia lives by the Minsk accord....On
the other hand, we have to be prepared to do more if Russia doesn't
take that path."
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier signaled he was
prepared to press for new sanctions against Russia should the
separatists resume their attacks.
"Of course, an attack, or certainly a broad offensive, in the
direction of Mariupol and beyond would represent a qualitative
change in the situation that would force us to react," Mr.
Steinmeier said in Berlin on Monday after a meeting with his
Latvian counterpart, Edgars Rink vičs.
Still, he noted reluctance from some European countries. "After
the talks I've had in last days with some European colleagues,
nobody is desperately ambitious to meet in Brussels to impose
sanctions," he said.
European Union diplomats said on Monday that governments were
still weighing possible further pressure against Russia and are
unlikely to make any bold moves at Thursday's emergency foreign
ministers meeting. Discussions will be stepped up Tuesday and
Wednesday but the diplomats said there was no debate in Brussels
about specific sanctions steps.
Kremlin officials warned the West it wouldn't bow to any fresh
sanctions.
"Russia never assented to such threats, and such threats and
blackmail never led or will lead to Russia being pressured into
changing its consistent and well-known position," Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
In Donetsk, militant leader Alexander Zakharchenko said his
forces were attempting to link up territory held by the two
separatist republics, known as the Donetsk and Luhansk People's
Republics, or DNR and LNR.
"Clashes are continuing on the whole territory of DNR. We are
now trying to join with LNR, level out the front line and free up
at least a brigade," Mr. Zakharchenko was quoted as saying by
Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti.
In Kiev, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the
government had ordered its regions to be on high alert, which he
said would allow local resources to be directed to dealing with the
consequences of the upsurge in fighting.
Ukraine's Security Service posted material on its website that
it said proved the rocket attack on Mariupol was carried out by a
Russian-led unit, including a video statement by a man identified
as the spotter for the shelling. The militants initially said they
were launching an attack on Mariupol, but some later said they
weren't responsible for the attack, blaming Kiev instead.
Anton Troianovski in Berlin, Nick Shchetko in Kiev, Ukraine, and
Naftali Bendavid and Matthew Dalton in Brussels contributed to this
article.
Write to James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com