The head of the American diplomacy on Wednesday asked Vladimir Putin to choose the “peaceful way” in the Ukrainian crisis, an appeal launched during a visit of support in Ukraine, two days from a Russian diplomatic face-to-face -American.
Russia has deployed tens of thousands of troops to the Ukrainian border in recent weeks, raising fears of an invasion. While denying any plan of attack, the Kremlin insists that a de-escalation requires guarantees for its security, in particular the commitment never to enlarge NATO, in particular to Ukraine.
Conversely, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was received by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, judged that the ball was in Russia’s court.
“I strongly hope that we can stay on a diplomatic and peaceful path, but ultimately it will be President Putin’s decision,” the diplomat said, while noting that Russia could “very quickly” increase further its troops deployed on the outskirts of Ukraine.
In this context, Washington announced “a provision of 200 million dollars in additional defensive security aid” to Ukraine, assistance that will not fail to irritate Moscow, the Kremlin considering that arming Kiev amounts to threatening Russia.
President Zelensky, receiving his American guest, thanked him the United States “for the military aid” especially in “these difficult times”.
Kiev has repeatedly complained about the insufficient nature of Western military assistance.
Written and concrete answers
After a round of talks last week, Russians and Westerners, Americans in the lead, have noted the gap separating them, but Mr. Blinken still hopes to be able to find a diplomatic way out.
After Kiev on Wednesday, the head of American diplomacy is expected in Berlin on Thursday for discussions with Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
And above all, on Friday, Antony Blinken must meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Geneva, to try to renew the dialogue.
The latter, however, insisted that he needed “concrete” answers to Russian demands, in particular on the non-enlargement of NATO, before new talks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov deemed this meeting “extremely important”, while stressing that he was waiting “in the days to come for a written response” to Russian claims.
Mr. Blinken said Wednesday that “very severe consequences” will be imposed on Russia in the event of aggression against Ukraine. Moscow brushed off these sanctions threats.
Washington believes that the Russian army could attack Ukraine “at any time” and has expressed concern about major military maneuvers with Russia in Belarus, a neighbor of the Ukrainians.
The Americans finally accused Moscow of preparing provocations to justify its military intervention.
The Russian power is already considered, despite its denials, as the godfather of the pro-Russian fighters who proclaimed the independence of two regions of eastern Ukraine.
Russian requirements
In Donetsk, one of their capitals located a few kilometers from the front, large pro-Russian patriotic posters are spread over dilapidated Soviet buildings: “Glory to the warriors of liberation” or “We are Russian Donbass”.
But here too, we hope for a peaceful solution.
“The (Russian-Western) talks are good, at least it’s not war,” said Alexei Bokarev, a retired miner.
“How will this end? We can’t say, but the fact is […] the whole world is interested in this issue, for peace and tranquility,” he continues.
To get out of these tensions, Moscow is demanding, in addition to a treaty banning any enlargement of NATO, that the Americans and their allies renounce organizing maneuvers and military deployments in Eastern Europe.
Negotiations last week in Geneva, Brussels and Vienna failed to make any progress, with Moscow deeming its demands non-negotiable and Westerners calling them unacceptable.
Russia denies any bellicose intentions with regard to Ukraine and says it is threatened by the strengthening of NATO in the region since the fall of the USSR.
In response to a pro-Western revolution in Ukraine, Russia already annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014 and is widely seen as the mastermind of pro-Russian separatist activity in eastern Ukraine.