LONDON, Feb 10, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Britain said Wednesday it was ready to
deploy 1,000 more troops to deal with any humanitarian crisis linked to
Ukraine, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson headed to NATO and Poland.

   His trip Thursday coincides with crisis talks in Moscow between British
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and her counterpart Sergei Lavrov, as the UK and
other US-led allies demand Russia halt its threats against Ukraine.

   "As an alliance we must draw lines in the snow and be clear there are
principles upon which we will not compromise," Johnson said ahead of his
talks in Brussels with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

   "That includes the security of every NATO ally and the right of every
European democracy to aspire to NATO membership," he said, rebuffing Russian
demands to rule out Ukraine ever joining the alliance.

   From Brussels, Johnson will head to Warsaw to meet Polish President
Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and members of a UK military
detachment in the country, which is set to grow by 350 more troops.

   Britain is nearly doubling its NATO deployment in Estonia, from 900 to
1,750, and has a smaller force in Ukraine for training on UK anti-tank
missiles.

   Johnson will promise "1,000 more British troops will be put at readiness
in the UK to support a humanitarian response in the region should it be
needed", Downing Street said.

   He will also say that Britain is deploying more Royal Air Force jets in
southern Europe, and two Royal Navy vessels to the eastern Mediterranean.

   Johnson, who visited Kyiv last week in a show of solidarity, added in a
message to Moscow: "What we need to see is real diplomacy, not coercive
diplomacy."

   Truss meanwhile is leading the UK charge on possible sanctions if Russia
invades Ukraine, warning of "massive consequences" ahead of her talks
Thursday with Lavrov.

   The Russian foreign ministry retorted by calling for a "change in the
tone" of British rhetoric.