UAE, Kuwait, Iraq urge nationals to leave Ukraine amid tension

By Diana Shalhub

ISTANBUL (AA) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, and Iraq on Saturday advised their nationals against traveling to Ukraine as tension continues to escalate between Russia and the West.

On Twitter, the UAE Embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv urged its citizens to postpone any travel to Ukraine amid fear of a possible Russian invasion.

The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry also called on its nationals in Ukraine to leave the country “to preserve their safety.” It also urged those seeking to travel to Ukraine “to postpone their travel at the present time.”

Citing “exceptional circumstances," the Iraqi Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling on its citizens in Ukraine to leave the country and to avoid traveling there.

Ukraine has been plagued by conflict in its eastern regions since March 2014 following Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea.

Moscow recently amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that the Kremlin could be planning another military offensive against its ex-Soviet neighbor.

Russia has denied it is preparing to invade and accused Western countries of undermining its security by NATO’s expansion toward its borders.

The Kremlin also issued a list of security demands to the West, including a rollback of troop deployments from some ex-Soviet states and guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia will not join NATO.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara