expectations remain bleak
Blinking: want to talk, “until tanks roll”
02/20/2022, 5:30 p.m
The US continues to see all signs pointing to a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Foreign Minister Blinken declares that he intends to continue all diplomatic efforts up to a certain point. French President Macron, meanwhile, may have reached a first rapprochement.
In an effort to de-escalate the Ukraine crisis, US President Joe Biden is ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin “at any time”. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington wants to continue diplomatic efforts “until tanks are actually ‘rolling into Ukraine’ and planes are in the sky.” President Biden is ready for a talk with Putin, no matter what format, “if that can prevent a war”.
Blinken made it clear again that Washington expects Russian troops to invade Ukraine in the near future. “Everything we’re seeing suggests this is very serious, that we’re on the brink of invasion,” said Blinken, who gave a series of TV interviews on Sunday.
A massive Russian troop deployment on the Ukrainian border, including the major Belarusian-Russian maneuvers, are fueling fears of an impending Russian attack on Ukraine. In the embattled east of Ukraine, violence has been increasing for days. The Ukrainian army and the pro-Russian militias in the conflict area recently accused each other of numerous violations of the ceasefire.
Putin sees his country confronted with “provocations”.
Meanwhile, Russia and France have agreed to work quickly on a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. This was agreed by President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, according to a statement by the Élysée Palace published in Paris. According to the Kremlin, it was agreed to “facilitate the restoration of the ceasefire and ensure progress in resolving the conflict.”
For its part, the Kremlin stressed that in the talks Putin blamed “provocations” by the Ukrainian army for the “escalation” in eastern Ukraine. The deliveries of modern weapons and ammunition to the Ukrainian armed forces from the west are pushing “Kiev towards a military solution” in the conflict with the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, which has been going on since 2014.