A meeting probably not decisive but under high tension was held in Geneva on Friday, January 21, about the situation in Ukraine, where the conflict between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army is experiencing renewed tension.
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Anthony Blinken, his American counterpart, discussed the demands of the Russians. Moscow indeed wants legal guarantees that NATO will not integrate Ukraine into its midst but also that no strategic weapon will be placed on the border between the two countries and that no military maneuver will take place.
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Russia ensures that it will take the necessary measures to ensure its security if it does not obtain these guarantees. For its part, Washington accuses Vladimir Putin of wanting to launch a military attack on Ukraine, which Moscow denies.
The Russian people are mostly opposed to a war, according to opinion polls. And in the streets of Moscow, the population highlights its closeness to the Ukrainian “brothers”. “We have only good feelings towards the Ukrainians. They are like brothers and I don’t think we will declare war on them under any circumstances”, assures Maria, a septuagenarian from Moscow.
Many Russians have an attachment to Ukraine. Moreover, 28% of them have family there, studied there or were born there. “I have a lot of family members in Ukraine. We talk to each other often and without problems”, says Nikita. “Obviously, with the propaganda of our governments, we can have differences but we avoid talking about it and it goes well.”
Public opinion is not, however, totally disconnected from the Kremlin’s discourse. “IIt is not excluded that the Americans are behind it”, says Igor. Like him, the vast majority ofblames the United States for the crisis. “They are pulling strings there because otherwise Ukraine has always been a friendly people.” On the other hand, Russian power would have little to gain from a conflict since only 16% of Russians would have a better opinion of Vladimir Putin in the event of war.