Ukraine at the heart of the 2nd day, this Saturday, of the Munich Security Conference, in Germany. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met his Western allies there. Allies who despite their differences in recent weeks wanted to show their unity against Moscow
The United States is brandishing the threat of unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia, with its allies and partners, specifies Vice-President Kamala Harris. ” We must be united in the face of the threat “, also insists British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Same message of firmness, unit displayed therefore. Inevitable after the bombings in eastern Ukraine, this common discourse in the face of violence is not new.
And yet, differences still point, for example on the will or not of Russia to invade Ukraine. Washington said it was convinced. Not Berlin, which still ensured Saturday in a fairly firm reframing, “ not knowing if an attack was already decided “.
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And then how would these states react individually in the event of a Russian invasion? Volodymyr Zelensky himself seems to doubt their involvement. The Ukrainian president also made the trip to Munich. “ For eight years, he said, Ukraine was a shield for Europe. “ One of the largest armies in the world is massed on our borders. Not EU ones “.
So ended the policy of appeasement of Westerners. Kiev called for much firmer support, “ guarantees of security and peace “, during this traditional conference in Munich, an appointment in which, for the first time in many years, Moscow did not participate.
The G7 calls for de-escalation
At the same time, G7 foreign ministers, at an informal meeting also held in Munich, urged Russia to show tangible signs of de-escalation on Ukraine’s borders. The east of the country is the scene of artillery shelling who left two dead in the ranks of the Ukrainian army.
A situation that could cause population movements in this region, the Donbass. However, an influx of refugees in Russia in the coming days could provoke an immediate reaction from Moscow, analyzes Christine Dugoin-Clément, researcher in the “Risks” chair of the IAE at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
The announcement made of massive refugees from the territories of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk to Russia and by Russia is something particularly worrying insofar as Russia has often positioned itself with regard to the right of peoples to have themselves and the defense of populations.
Christine Dugoin-Clément, researcher in the “Risks” chair of the IAE at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
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