During a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Ukrainian president said on Monday that Ukraine’s membership of NATO ” would guarantee his safety “.
The question is at the heart of the current crisis between Russia and the West. At the risk of further irritating the Kremlin, which considers Ukraine’s membership of NATO as unacceptable, President Volodomyr Zelensky has reaffirmed his country’s determination to join the Atlantic Alliance. ” We understand that NATO membership would guarantee our security and our territorial sovereignty. he said during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian President also presented the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipelinewhich is to connect Russia to Germany bypassing Ukraine, as ” a geopolitical weapon “, considering that Kiev and Berlin had” some disagreements in their assessment of the impact of this project. Washington urges Berlin to cancel this project, still awaiting authorization from the German side, in the event of an invasion of Ukraine. But the German government has so far remained evasive on this issue.
” Seize dialogue offers »
The German Chancellor, who will travel to Moscow on Tuesday, for his part urged Russia to seize the ” dialog offers intended to lead to a de-escalation of the Ukrainian crisis. ” Russia’s military activities on the Ukrainian border are not understandable. There are no reasonable grounds for such a military deployment “, did he declare.
Olaf Scholz once again warned the Kremlin in the event of an attack on Ukraine, promising measures of ” huge proportion with significant repercussions for the Russian economy. ” No one should doubt the EU’s determination and preparedness “, he said. Americans and Europeans are indeed raising the specter of heavy sanctions against Moscow in the event of a military invasion. ” This is what I will emphasize tomorrow in Moscow “Insisted the German Chancellor, reaffirming that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine were” non-negotiable “. ” That is why we expect from Russia unmistakable steps towards de-escalation “, he continued.
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After several days of offensive statements from Moscow, the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that a chance to find a compromise was still possible. ” Our possibilities are far from exhausted “, he said during a meeting with Vladimir Putin broadcast on television, even proposing to ” extend and expand the dialogue. ” Good “, replied laconically the Russian president, whose intentions remain for the moment indecipherable for Western capitals.
A sense of calm
Russia, which already annexed Crimea in 2014 and supports pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, has consistently denied any aggressive intentions. On the contrary, she says she is threatened by the expansion of NATO resources in Eastern Europe and calls for ” security guarantees », In particular the assurance that Ukraine will never join NATO. The West deemed the Russian demands unacceptable, but proposed increased dialogue on other issues, such as arms control. Sergei Lavrov judged ” constructive some of the American proposals.
The United States keeps repeating that an invasion of Ukraine could be imminent, but Kiev has tried in recent days to put the threat into perspective. As if to give the impression of an appeasement, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also announced the end of certain military maneuvers on Monday, as exercises on the Russian-Ukrainian borders and in Belarus fuel fears of a military escalation.
But, a sign that the situation remains explosive, the Pentagon said on Monday that Moscow had reinforced its military force on the borders of Ukraine during the weekend, where more than 100,000 soldiers have been massed for weeks.
(With AFP)