Poland's foreign minister warned of the greatest possible war to representatives of the 57 member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) who attended the third round of diplomacy this week in Vienna Austria.
Polish Foreign Minister Zigniew Rau also said that Europe now faces the greatest risk of war in 30 years.
Sources from Reuters on January 14, 2022 said that the meeting was held to ease tensions over Russia's request that Ukraine not be allowed to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Although Rau did not mention Russia in his speech, he did explain that some conflicts are believed to involve Moscow.
"It seems that the risk of war in the OSCE area is now greater than in the last 30 years," said Rau, who also explained his country's priorities as OSCE leader this year.
Poland is a member of NATO that opposes what it calls Russia's revisionist ambitions in Eastern Europe. "For several weeks we have been faced with the possibility of a major military escalation in Eastern Europe," said Rau.
Rau called for full respect for Ukraine's sovereign territorial integrity and unity within internationally recognized boundaries.
Russia has deployed more than 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine battling Moscow-backed separatists in the east.
Short talks between Russian and US ministers in Geneva as well as Russia and NATO in Brussels did not produce a clear agreement.
The Russian government on Thursday carried a negative assessment of security talks with the United States and NATO this week that it said were unsuccessful. The Kremlin also said there was disagreement on a number of related issues or issues.
