Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Russia says it will resume diplomatic talks with the West amid the Ukraine crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this in a television conversation, yesterday local time.
Lavrov said there was always a chance to reach an agreement with the West on Ukraine. He told Putin that there was a lot of progress towards achieving Russia’s goals and it was still worth pursuing.
“I would suggest continuing (talks),” Lavrov said in televised remarks AFPquoted Tuesday (15/2/2022).
Lavrov told Putin that the United States had put forward concrete proposals to reduce military risks. Meanwhile, talks with NATO and the European Union have not been satisfactory.
In the same broadcast, Putin is said to have agreed to this. Putin confirmed Lavrov’s statement.
“Good,” Putin said.
Meanwhile, on the same day, the US announced it would temporarily move its embassy in Kiev to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv near the Polish border. This step was taken because of the significant addition of Russian troops on the border.
However, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken said the US would continue to push for a diplomatic solution. Especially if Russia shows good faith.
“Diplomatic avenues remain available if Russia chooses to engage in good faith. We hope to return our staff to the Embassy as soon as conditions allow,” Blinken said.
Russia is said to have deployed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border. But the Kremlin has denied planning to attack.
Russia accuses the West of being too hysterical. While a number of US media, such as Politico- said some sources believe Russia will attack Ukraine on February 16 tomorrow.
The Russia-Ukraine issue was originally a territorial dispute. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and supports pro-Russian separatist groups in Eastern Ukraine.
This makes Ukraine closer to the West to protect itself from the White Bear. But this made Moscow even more heated and asked NATO not to accept Ukraine’s membership and stop expanding its influence in Eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres insisted there was no alternative to diplomacy. He warns that abandoning such an approach in favor of confrontation would amount to self-harm.
Ukraine has previously said it wants to talk to Russia. This was confirmed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, quoted as saying: AFP.
“Ukraine expects a meeting with Russia and all member states in the next 48 hours to discuss strengthening and moving Russian troops along our borders,” he said.
It also refers to the 1990 Vienna Document. In which there is an obligation for the 57 members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to share information about their military strengths and inform each other about key activities.
Specifically, February 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the day “Unity Day” while reassuring citizens about the potential for war. Rumors of war are said to have hurt Ukraine’s economy and made a number of flights avoid the country’s skies.
(tfa)
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