Russian-Western tensions: after a month of silence, Vladimir Putin continued to blow hot and cold, but above all he left the door open to diplomacy.
With our correspondent in Moscow, Anissa El Jabri
Zero points for the United States in its response to Russia’s guarantee requests and its behavior.
Washington’s mail is still being studied in Moscow, but Vladimir Putin’s opinion has already been made. In essence: the Americans are ignoring our concerns, using Ukraine as a tool, to drag us into armed conflict.
We have not seen adequate consideration of our three key demands: an end to NATO’s enlargement policy, a commitment not to deploy offensive weapons near Russia’s borders and the withdrawal of Alliance military positions on the 1997 borders, i.e. before the organization welcomed ex-members of the Soviet bloc
Vladimir Putin blows hot and cold
The conclusion is not final, but Vladimir Poutine leaves all its place to the dialogue: no ultimatum, on the contrary a diplomatic process which continues.
The Russian President assured hope for a solution », « even if it’s not easy “. And he mentioned an imminent arrival of Emmanuel Macron in Russia and he must also speak on the phone with the British Prime Minister this Wednesday. Boris Johnson, who was in Warsaw on Tuesday.
Blinken-Lavrov talks: Communication not really moving forward, but at least it’s not cut off
The heads of American and Russian diplomats spoke again on Tuesday, for the first time since the American written response and the end of non-receipt to requests for guarantees from Russia on its security. Anthony Blinken continues to urge Moscow to immediately de-escalate and withdraw troops from the border with Ukraine. He also repeats that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would have rapid and severe consequences for the country. The Secretary of State asks Russia to choose the diplomatic route. The American discourse is therefore always the same and the result is also always the same, reports our correspondent in Washington, Guillaume Naudin.
According to a senior American official, Sergei Lavrov provides “no indication” of an imminent desire for de-escalation on the part of Moscow. According to the same official, the next step will be the delivery by Russia to the United States, at an undetermined date, of a “formal response” validated by President Vladimir Putin to the letter sent last week by Washington to Moscow. and in which the United States proposed to negotiate in particular on arms control.
This is what makes the Russian foreign minister say that his counterpart recognizes that there are reasons to discuss Russia’s security concerns. Communication is therefore not really progressing, but at least it is not cut off.
Along with Vladimir Putin,Hungarian Prime Minister with whom he savored from a distance, Covid obliges, a glass of champagne. And a warning in the form of a spade to Europeans who criticized his arrival in the midst of the Russian-Western crisis. ” Gas deliveries to Europe have fallen by around 40%, said Vladimir Putin. Next year our European partners will probably have problems. But Hungary will not have one. »