EU threatens Russia sanctions as NATO backs Ukraine

Western allies on Thursday rejected Russia's bid to thwart Kiev's NATO ambitions and urged Moscow to halt its military build-up along Ukraine's border and return to talks led by France and Germany.

European Union leaders, meeting in Brussels, insisted on "the urgent need for Russia to de-escalate tensions caused by the military build-up along its border with Ukraine and aggressive rhetoric".

Separately, NATO's members used similar language, rejecting "the false Russian claims of Ukrainian and NATO provocations" and urged Moscow to "immediately de-escalate, pursue diplomatic channels, and abide by its international commitments."    

Both organizations, which share most of their member states, reiterated a threat to impose "massive consequences" on Moscow through sanctions, coordinated between European powers and Washington.

On Thursday, the EU leaders agreed to renew for six months existing economic sanctions imposed on Russia in 2014 in response to its annexation of Crimea, a Ukrainian region. 

The US has used similar language of "massive" retaliation in the event of a Russian invasion while attempting to reach out to Moscow to defuse the situation.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg branded Russia the "aggressor".

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants direct dialogue with US counterpart Joe Biden to resolve the stand-off, and is seeking security guarantees to stand down his troops.

But the European leaders in their summit pushed for a return to the "Normandy format", a four-way dialogue between Paris, Berlin, Kiev and Moscow designed to enforce the 2015 Minsk accords, a blueprint for a political settlement.