The tension on the border between Ukraine and Russia is still high and from Monday, Russia and the United States will begin a dialogue to prevent the situation from worsening. It was the theme of a NATO meeting this Friday, January 7 in Brussels between Americans and European partners.
The West and Ukraine have accused the Russians for several weeks of amassing tens of thousands of soldiers on the Ukrainian border for a potential invasion, and have clearly threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with sanctions ” massive And unprecedented if he attacked the neighboring country again.
Moscow, for its part, demands treaties excluding any future membership of Ukraine in NATO and committing the transatlantic alliance to reduce its forces at the gates of Russia.
In an attempt to overcome this new crisis through dialogue, American and Russian diplomats meet in Geneva on Monday, before a NATO-Russia meeting on Wednesday in Brussels then a meeting on Thursday in Vienna of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ( OSCE), of which Kiev is also a member. A week of talks which, according to NATO, risk leading, in the event of failure, to a ” new conflict ” in Ukraine.
“ Russia’s military build-up continues around Ukraine and is accompanied by a speech threatening Moscow if its demands are not accepted. But they are unacceptable and the risk of a new conflict is real “, Warned, this Friday, the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg at the end of the videoconference with the foreign ministers of the countries of the Alliance.
The United States will not be “distracted”
The United States reached out to Russia but also warned that they would not let themselves be ” distract By its demands.
Russia “ wants to draw us into a debate on NATO rather than letting us focus on the hot topic which is its aggression against Ukraine. We won’t be distracted by this », For his part warned Antony Blinken, in a very offensive speech towards Moscow.
“ I think it’s certainly part of their strategy to come up with a list of absolutely inadmissible demands and then pretend the other side is not playing the game and use that as a justification for aggression. », He hammered again.
The US Secretary of State also warned against the possibility that Moscow “ hatch a provocation or incident and then use it to justify military intervention, in the hope that when the world realizes his ruse, it will be too late “.
And Antony Blinken adds: “ Almost 100,000 troops today, with plans to mobilize twice as many very quickly. So how does Moscow explain it? By disinformation. By claiming that Ukraine threatens Russia, that Ukraine seeks to provoke conflict, and that the reinforcement of troops, tanks and heavy artillery are purely defensive. It’s like the fox is saying he has to attack the henhouse because its occupants would be a threat in some way. Russia’s aggressive actions are a threat to peace and security in Europe. “
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A diplomatic solution is “still possible”
For the US Secretary of State, there is still room for diplomacy. ” We are ready to respond forcefully to further Russian aggression. But a diplomatic solution is always possible and preferable if Russia decides. This is what with our allies and partners we will continue to seek next week. ”
Western ministers also called for the ” de-escalation “ Russian to promote diplomacy, by renewing their red lines. ” It is out of the question for NATO to compromise on the principle of the right of each nation to choose its own path, including the type of security agreement to which it wants to be part. “, Supported the boss of the Alliance.
No negotiations without Europe
Faced with the Kremlin’s apparent desire to favor a face-to-face meeting with the Americans, the Europeans all demanded once again their seat at the negotiating table. “ Whatever the solution, it must go through Europe “, Hammered in Paris the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.
Antony Blinken, who has already pledged to fully involve Europeans, also promised his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kouleba that there would be ” no talks about Ukraine without Ukraine “.
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(with AFP)