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After the Russian-American diplomatic tete-a-tete in Geneva, a meeting between NATO and Russia is to be held on Wednesday January 13 in Brussels. Russia is putting more pressure than ever on the meeting of the day.
Threat of war in Ukraine, security guarantees demanded by Russia at its borders… This Wednesday sees the opening of the second stage of an intense diplomatic week while relations between Russia and Allies are at their lowest since the end of the Cold War and the Atlantic Alliance has refocused on its opposition to Russia since the Afghan debacle. This meeting between NATO and Russia is also the deadline to decide whether it is time to end or continue the discussions, said the Russian negotiator in substance.
The subjects of possible openings towards the de-escalation of tensions are numerous, such as the control of missiles or the reduction of military tension in Ukraine. But this Wednesday, the central issue that must be addressed for Moscow is its demand that NATO not expand, neither to Ukraine, nor to Georgia, nor to any other country on its borders, reports our correspondent in Moscow, Anissa ElJabri.
A commitment that Russia wants “ reinforced concrete “. Moscow even went so far as to set a date: the next NATO general assembly at the end of June.
« Ukraine has the right to defend itself »
However, Russia knows full well that this requirement is unacceptable to the Allies. There is no question either for them, or for possible candidates, of Russia dictating its terms. A chasm therefore separates the two positions, but there remains a small glimmer of hope. Moscow also demanded in December the prohibition of any deployment of NATO on its eastern flank and Russia no longer talks about it today.
For his part, “theUkraine has the right to defend itself “, affirmed Monday the secretary-general of the Atlantic Alliance at the end of the NATO-Ukraine commission. And the Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dmitro Kouleba returns to the charge: the position of his country will not vary, Russia does not have the right to vote on a membership from Ukraine to NATO. He also took care to add that the subject was a red line for Ukraine and its partners and is above all a way of asserting that the Atlantic Alliance guaranteed its support to the Ukrainians on Monday, according to our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet.
The NATO-Ukraine rapprochement is an ancient story. In 2008, NATO offered Ukraine the prospect of joining the Alliance, a rapprochement that has intensified since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. And now the fundamental position of the Alliance is that a sovereign and independent Ukraine is one of the keys to Euro-Atlantic security ».
► Read also : Kiev calls on NATO to speed up its accession
Finland and Sweden worried about Russian influence
If Ukraine is at the heart of the news, two other countries are also worried about the Russian threat and do not want to see their foreign policy dictated. Finland, which shares a border of more than 1,000 kilometers with Russia, and Sweden, which has greatly increased its military budget, reports our correspondent in Stockholm, Frederic Faux.
The two are not members of NATO, unlike Norway, but they collaborate regularly with the countries of the Atlantic Alliance and they would be ready to take the plunge if the Russian threat became too insistent.
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With each military exercise, with each purchase of armaments, Moscow raises its tone, promises reprisals and recalls its desire to prevent any enlargement of NATO. The last time was in December, and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson responded by recalling ” Sweden’s right to choose its own security policy ».
A Russian pressure which seems for the moment counterproductive, because each time it is exercised, the supporters of joining NATO come out a little more reinforced. The holding of the long-awaited NATO-Russia council is a positive sign but the risk of a dialogue of the deaf this Wednesday is very present
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