Ukraine on Sunday called on Russia to withdraw its troops massed along the border between the two countries and to continue dialogue with the West if it wants a de-escalation of tensions. This request comes as the United Nations (UN) Security Council meets on Monday, January 31, on the Ukrainian crisis at the request of Washington which, with its NATO allies, is stepping up its efforts to dissuade Moscow from invading Ukraine, while preparing new sanctions against Russia.
“More than 100,000 Russian troops are deployed on the Ukrainian border and Russia is engaging in other acts of destabilization targeting Ukraine, posing a clear threat to international peace and security and the UN Charter”, affirmed, a few days ago, the American ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Russia will probably try to prevent the fifteen members of the Council from holding the meeting, “but the Security Council is united. Our voices are united in asking the Russians to explain themselves”, said the American ambassador to the UN on Sunday on ABC. “We will enter the room ready to listen to them, but we will not be distracted by their propaganda, she added. And we’re going to be ready to respond to any misinformation they try to spread during this meeting.. »
Russia has been accused since the end of 2021 of having massed up to 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border in preparation for an attack. Moscow denies any plan in this direction, while demanding written guarantees for its security, including the rejection of Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the end of the military reinforcement of the Atlantic Alliance in the east. This key request was rejected by the United States this week in a written response to Moscow. The Kremlin asked to think again.
Several Western countries have announced in recent days the dispatch of new contingents to Eastern Europe. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will propose to NATO this week to deploy troops to respond to “Russian hostility” towards Ukraine. An announcement appreciated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba, who both welcomed the « leadership » British.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki are expected in Kiev this week.
Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand, whose country provides military assistance to Ukraine, arrived there on Sunday for a two-day visit. She announced the movement of Canadian military troops to western Ukraine and the temporary repatriation of all non-essential employees stationed at her embassy in Kyiv.
Threats of economic sanctions
The United States and the United Kingdom have brandished the threat of new sanctions against Russia. London said it wants to target Russian interests “which directly interest the Kremlin”. In Washington, two elected Democrats and Republicans said that Congress was close to an agreement on a bill providing for new economic sanctions against Russia.
Among the arsenal of sanctions mentioned, the United Kingdom and the United States plan to target the strategic Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, or even Russian access to transactions in dollars, the main currency in international trade.
Faced with the prospect of these new sanctions, Moscow demanded to be treated on an equal footing by Washington. “We want good, fair, mutually respectful and equal relations with the United States, as with any other country in the world”, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told television. Russia “does not want to remain in a position where [sa] security is regularly breached”, continued Mr. Lavrov.
Russia will ask the Atlantic Alliance to clearly state how it intends to respond to its security concerns, Lavrov said on Sunday. ” Today, via Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we make a formal request to our colleagues in the Alliance and the OSCE [Organisation pour la sécurité et la coopération en Europe] by asking them to explain as soon as possible the way in which they intend to respect their commitments not to reinforce their security to the detriment of the security of others”, said the head of Russian diplomacy.
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