Russia is trying to bypass the European Union (EU) in direct talks with the United States on Ukraine, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Ledran said on Friday.
Talks between US and Russian diplomats will begin on Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland, after weeks of tensions over the concentration of Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders, raising concerns about preparations for another Russian invasion in Kiev and Switzerland.
“[Krievijas prezidents] Vladimir Putin wants to bypass the EU, he wants to create cracks in the EU ‘s affiliation, which is getting closer, “the minister told BFM and radio RMC.
“The security of the EU cannot be imagined without Europeans,” he added.
“Putin has, in a way, initiated discussions with NATO about returning to areas of influence, as in the past, which would mean that Russia is returning to the Yalta spirit,” the minister said, recalling the 1945 Allied conference in which the USSR was in control of Eastern Europe.
“It’s not our point of view, but we have to accept the debate.”
If Russia now makes another invasion of Ukraine, as it did in 2014, Moscow will have to reckon with “serious strategic consequences”, including the possibility of a reconsideration of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Ledrian warned.
Although Putin claims to have begun withdrawing troops from the region, Paris has not yet been convinced that this will happen, the minister said.
High-ranking German and French diplomats met with their Russian counterparts in Moscow on Thursday as part of an international effort to revive peace talks in eastern Ukraine.
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