A “Diplomatic solution” with Russia “Is still possible”, if Moscow plays the game of dialogue, to defuse the crisis around Ukraine, said Friday the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken at a press conference in Washington. “We are ready to respond forcefully to further Russian aggression. But a diplomatic solution is still possible, and preferable, if Russia chooses this path “, he adds on the eve of a week of talks between the West and Moscow.
Westerners and Ukrainians have for several weeks accused the Russians of amassing tens of thousands of troops on the Ukrainian border for a potential invasion, and have clearly threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with sanctions. “Massive” and unprecedented if it attacked the neighboring country again.
Moscow, for its part, demands an agreement guaranteeing the end of NATO’s enlargement at the gates of Russia. “Russia is now demanding that the United States and NATO sign treaties to withdraw NATO forces stationed on the soil of allies in Central and Eastern Europe, and to prohibit Ukraine from joining NATO , and wants to draw us into a debate on NATO rather than let us (let us) focus on the hot topic of its aggression against Ukraine. We will not be distracted by this ”, warns Antony Blinken.
“I think it’s certainly part of their strategy to come up with a list of absolutely inadmissible demands and then pretend the other side is not playing along and use that as a justification for aggression.”, insists the Secretary of State again. “But the reality is that Russia knows very well what we cannot accept. And there are also files, subjects, on which we can dialogue. “
Antony Blinken also warns of the possibility that Moscow “Hatch a provocation or an incident and then use it to justify a military intervention, in the hope that, when the world realizes his ruse, it will be too late”. “The idea that Ukraine could be the aggressor in this situation is absurd”, he adds, recalling that the Russians had annexed Crimea in 2014 in violation of international law, and had recently amassed “Nearly 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border with plans to mobilize very quickly double that number”.
NATO more fatalistic
At the same time, and in a slightly more fatalistic way, NATO is worried about its side of the risk “real” of conflict warned Alliance secretary general Jens Stoltenberg on Friday. “Russia’s military build-up continues around Ukraine and is accompanied by a threatening speech from Moscow if its demands are not accepted. However, they are unacceptable and the risk of a new conflict is real ”, argued Jens Stoltenberg after a videoconference meeting with the foreign ministers of the Alliance countries.
The Kremlin made public at the end of last year two treaty proposals committing NATO to exclude any future membership of Ukraine and to reduce its forces near the borders with Russia. “It is out of the question for NATO to compromise on the principle of the right of each nation to choose its own path, including the type of security agreement to which it wants to be part”, argued Jens Stoltenberg. US-Russian talks are due to open Monday in Geneva to defuse the risk of Russian intervention in Ukraine. Moscow also agreed to participate in a NATO-Russia Council meeting on Wednesday, the first since the summer of 2019. “It is a positive signal because the voltages are high”, underlined Jens Stoltenberg.
But the allies set conditions. “The Russian government must de-escalate, pursue diplomatic channels and respect its commitments in terms of transparency of military activities”, thus demands the British Foreign Minister Liz Truss. His Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau, for his part, asserts that “The talks with Russia cannot take place in a situation of escalation towards Ukraine and NATO”.
NATO will not intervene
“No discussion on the security of Europe will take place without Europeans at the negotiating table”, Jens Stoltenberg insisted. The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, for his part promised in Kiev that there would be no “No discussion on Ukraine without Ukraine”.
“The entire geopolitical situation in the region requires that Europe, the European Union, be able to propose its vision of things, act and sit around the table with all the stakeholders”, French President Emmanuel Macron insisted on Friday during a meeting in Paris with members of the European Commission chaired by German Ursula von der Leyen. “We need to prepare for the prospect that the consultation will fail, warned Jens Stoltenberg. If Russia decides to use military means against a neighbor, it will be hit by severe economic and political sanctions. ” But NATO will not intervene militarily, because Ukraine is not a member country of the Alliance, he repeated.
The Alliance is, however, preparing to strengthen its military presence on its eastern flank. “We have significant capacities”, underlined Jens Stoltenberg, recalling that NATO had a rapid reaction force of 40,000 men.