The Russian president on Tuesday accused the United States of ignoring his concerns and using Ukraine to stem Russia, before assuring hope “a solution” to the Russian-Western crisis which threatens to degenerate into armed conflict .
Vladimir Putin spoke publicly for the first time in weeks on the subject, shortly after a telephone conversation between the heads of Russian and American diplomacy, who noted their deep disagreement on the Ukrainian file, but seemed to want to continue their dialogue.
“The main objective of the United States is the containment of Russia and Ukraine is [leur] instrument to drag us into an armed conflict and hit us with the harshest sanctions,” the Kremlin master accused.
“I hope that in the end we will find a solution, even if it is not easy”, he said, receiving the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, an ally, although his country is a member of the European Union and NATO. The latter considered “surmountable” the differences between the two camps.
The Russian president made no mention of the tens of thousands of soldiers deployed at the gates of Ukrainian territory for weeks and which lead the Western world to think of a possible new attack by Russia against its neighbor, after that of 2014.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meanwhile urged his counterpart Sergei Lavrov to “immediate de-escalation” by asking for a “withdrawal” of these troops, warning of “swift and severe” sanctions in the event of an offensive.
For Russia, the sinews of war is different: it demands the end of NATO’s enlargement policy, as well as the withdrawal of its military capabilities from Eastern Europe.
These Russian demands were rejected and Moscow considered “secondary” the negotiations on other subjects proposed by Washington, such as the limits on the deployment of missiles or military maneuvers. Russia is currently preparing an official response to these proposals.
disaster scenario
Mr Putin, for his part, defended his position by drawing up a disaster scenario in which a Ukraine member of NATO would try to take back by force the Crimea which Russia annexed in 2014, triggering a conflict between Moscow and the Atlantic Alliance. .
“Imagine Ukraine, a NATO member, launching a military operation in Crimea, a Russian sovereign territory,” he said. And us what? Would we go to war with NATO? »
Echoing his Minister of Foreign Affairs, he opposed the principle according to which “no one should strengthen his security at the expense of others”, when the West insists on their side on the right of Ukraine to choose its alliances.
Despite these deep differences, the head of American diplomacy said he wanted to “continue a substantial exchange with Russia on mutual security concerns”.
“Antony Blinken agreed [sur le fait] that there are reasons to continue the dialogue” on the subject of Russian security, Sergei Lavrov also seemed to be delighted. “We’ll see how it goes,” he slipped.
Another sign of Western support for Ukraine, the British Prime Minister was in Kiev on Tuesday, like his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki.
Boris Johnson deemed it “vital that Russia back down and choose the path of diplomacy”, highlighting the “clear” and “imminent” danger of a Russian attack, while Ukraine considers this risk lower and is anxious to avoid creating a panic.
No Russian “retreat”
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, was in any case delighted in the morning with the extent of the diplomatic and military support of his allies, “the most important” since the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
To deter Moscow from any aggression, the West has accelerated its preparations for economic sanctions, applicable according to Boris Johnson “at the very moment when the first Russian toe” crosses the border.
The United States like the United Kingdom, which is one of the favorite investment grounds of the great Russian fortunes, said on Monday that they wanted to strike at the wallet of those close to the Kremlin.
Russian billionaires will risk the freezing of their assets in the United Kingdom, the impossibility of entering its territory or even carrying out transactions there.
“We are not going to retreat and stand at attention while listening to threats of American sanctions,” the Russian Embassy in Washington replied on Tuesday.
Since the beginning of this crisis, Moscow has favored direct contacts with Washington, but the Europeans are trying to stay in the game. The head of the Italian government, Mario Draghi, has called on Vladimir Putin to “de-escalate”. The Russian president is preparing a meeting with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron