At the beginning of January, their advisers spoke to each other, without success. Today, January 21, the heads of Russian and American diplomacy meet in Geneva. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken faces his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. In what state of mind are the two men when we are already talking about last-ditch talks before a conflict?
On the ground, Russia is stepping up demonstrations of force, reports our correspondent in Moscow, Anissa El Jabri. On Wednesday, joint military exercises took place with Belarusian forces on the borders of Ukraine and the European Union; and this other threat that hovers: a permanent Russian military presence with even nuclear forces on Belarusian territory.
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Thursday, all-out naval operations were launched from the Pacific to the Atlantic via the Mediterranean, 140 warships and 10,000 men were deployed. Joint maneuvers with Iran and China have even been announced, without the date being known yet.
” We are not threatening anyone. We warn “, The sentence was signed, Monday, January 17, by the Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Again on Thursday, a newspaper with a pro-government leaning issued this judgement: “ The Kremlin sends a softening signal to the United States and NATO “, signaling declarations ” clearly indicating that the game is running out of steam »
The experts on the subject are divided and each goes to his prognosis on this question: “ What does Vladimir Putin really want? » ; without being able to decide.
The American will to discuss… firmly
Firmness but also willingness to discuss, it is in this state of mind that Antony Blinken joins Switzerland, relates our correspondent in Washington Guillaume Naudin. Firmness, because the United States always explains that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would have a very high cost for Russia, with economic sanctions never seen, but also significant military losses, the United States having sent for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment to the Ukrainians while mobilizing the Eastern countries that are members of NATO.
This firmness, the Secretary of State must display it all the more after the declarations, corrected since, of the American president hinting that a minor Russian incursion might result in less reaction.
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Moscow’s problem is NATO and its eastward expansion. Russia has drawn up an unusually detailed list of demands in this regard to guarantee its interests and security.
Of that, Antony Blinken is not ready to discuss. And he has not planned to provide a written response to these requests for guarantees. On the other hand, the head of American diplomacy will repeat that Moscow can still choose the path of diplomacy and say that it is open to broader discussions between the two countries, in particular on the question of arms control or the transparency of military exercises. .
►Also read: In Ukraine, Antony Blinken evokes an imminent “risk of invasion”