Posted on Jan 7, 2022, 9:52 p.m.Updated Jan 7, 2022, 9:53 PM
A “diplomatic solution” with Russia “is still possible” to defuse the crisis around Ukraine, if Moscow plays the game of dialogue. One week before talks between the West and Moscow, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken returned the ball to the Russian camp.
Westerners and Ukrainians have accused Moscow for several weeks of amassing tens of thousands of troops on the Ukrainian border in preparation for a potential invasion, and have clearly threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with “massive” and unprecedented sanctions if he 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 involve us in a debate on NATO rather than focusing on the hot topic which is its aggression against Ukraine. We will not be distracted by this, ”warned Antony Blinken, however.
France pleads for a “frank dialogue” with Moscow
“I think it is certainly part of their strategy to present a list of absolutely inadmissible demands and then claim that the other side is not playing the game and use that as a justification for an aggression”, the secretary of ‘State. “But the reality is that Russia knows very well what we cannot accept. And there are also files, subjects, on which we can dialogue. “
A little earlier, NATO had been a little less optimistic. “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 ”, declared its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Emmanuel Macron, for his part, said he wanted to maintain dialogue with Moscow. “France continues to trade with Russia. I myself have had two very long conference calls with President (Vladimir) Putin in recent weeks. I will have more in the coming days ”, declared the Head of State during a press conference at the Elysee Palace with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “Europe must dialogue with Russia […] I continue to plead for a frank, demanding, coordinated dialogue, ”he added.
Source AFP
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