NATO paper is “studied”
Moscow expects patience – and marches on
01/27/2022, 08:15 am
While the Kremlin is calmly examining the NATO proposals for improving relations, the United States is again warning the government in Moscow of an escalation. The Ukraine conflict continues to smolder – also because Russia is apparently continuing its troop deployment in the border region at a rapid pace.
After the submission of proposals by the NATO countries to improve relations with Russia, the reaction of the Kremlin is eagerly awaited. The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko kept a low profile on Wednesday evening and only said: “We are reading. Studying.” The NATO countries finally examined Moscow’s proposals for “almost a month and a half”. Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany met in Paris for more than eight hours of talks. The meeting did not bring any concrete results in the Ukraine conflict. The United States again warned Russia of “massive consequences” if it invaded neighboring Ukraine.
On Wednesday, NATO and the United States responded in writing to Moscow’s demands for guarantees of security in Europe. When Russia demanded commitments to end NATO’s eastward expansion, neither NATO nor the USA showed any willingness to negotiate. It was made clear to Moscow “that there are core principles that we are committed to upholding and defending,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. These included Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the right of states to choose their own alliances.
NATO offered Russia negotiations on improving relations. “We are ready to listen to Russia’s concerns and to have a real discussion on how to preserve and strengthen the fundamental principles of European security (…),” said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. But this also includes the right of all states to decide for themselves on their way.
Blinken said there was room for maneuver with Moscow, for example in maneuvers in Europe or in arms control. According to Stoltenberg, NATO has made a concrete proposal to the Russian government to reopen the representations in Moscow and Brussels, which were closed after a dispute over espionage. In addition, they want to make full use of the existing military communication channels to promote transparency and reduce risks. Specifically, as a first step, mutual briefings in the NATO-Russia Council on maneuvers and nuclear policy are proposed.
More Russian troops approaching?
Last month, Russia handed NATO and the US draft agreements in which the Kremlin demands security guarantees in Europe. Among other things, it calls for an end to NATO’s eastward expansion, which Russia says it sees as a threat. In particular, the Kremlin wants to prevent Ukraine from being included in the western defense alliance.
The US and NATO, in turn, suspect Russian President Vladimir Putin of planning an invasion of neighboring Ukraine. The Kremlin rejects this. The Kremlin had flanked its demands on the West with a threatening deployment of troops on the border with Ukraine.
According to the findings of Western secret services, Russia recently continued its troop deployment at high speed. It can be assumed that there are now 112,000 to 120,000 soldiers in the area, said a senior intelligence official. This does not include the armed forces of the Russian-controlled separatists in Donbass. They are estimated at around 35,000. The secret service official did not want to comment specifically on the question of how many other Russian soldiers are still on the march. However, he emphasized that the strength of the Russian troops in the border area with Ukraine could increase significantly again in the coming weeks.
Normandy meeting planned in Berlin
Neither NATO nor the US government published their documents sent to Moscow. Blinken stressed that the US government’s response to Moscow’s concerns was fully coordinated with Ukraine and European allies. “We took their input and incorporated it into the final version that was sent to Moscow.” He expects to talk to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about it in the coming days.
The Russian foreign policy expert Leonid Slutsky emphasized that the letters from Brussels and Washington must first be examined. “But according to the statements of the Secretary General of the Alliance and the US Secretary of State, Russia’s security concerns were not taken into account,” he said.
At the deliberations in Paris on Wednesday, Russia and Ukraine, moderated by Germany and France, agreed on a commitment to the ceasefire agreed in 2020. Russia called on the government in Kiev to engage in dialogue with the forces in the Donbass crisis area. After the eight-and-a-half-hour crisis talks in the so-called Normandy format, Moscow negotiator Dmitry Kozak said that Kiev now has two weeks to develop a position. Then there should be a follow-up meeting in Berlin.
Resentment in Ukraine about German help
Blinken was “absolutely convinced” of German solidarity in the Ukraine conflict. “I see a very strong solidarity about the consequences that Russia will face if it renews its aggression against Ukraine, across the board. And that includes Germany,” he said. Blinken was responding to a question about criticism of Germany’s plan to deliver 5,000 military helmets to Ukraine.
In Ukraine – which had demanded large-scale deliveries of weapons to defend against a possible Russian attack – criticism of the German contribution was voiced. “5,000 helmets are an absolute joke,” said Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko to the “Bild” newspaper. “What does Germany want to send next in support? Pillows?”
The United States and Great Britain, among others, supply the Ukrainian army with weapons. In view of the increasing escalation in the Ukraine conflict, arms deliveries are also being discussed in Moscow – to the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin’s United Russia party proposed officially supplying the breakaway regions in Luhansk and Donetsk with military supplies. The West is already accusing Moscow of providing military support to the separatists, which the Kremlin denies.