A diplomatic marathon of rare intensity. One month to the day after the start of the offensive launched by the Russian army on Ukrainian soil, three summits are to be held on Thursday March 24 in Brussels, Belgium: that of NATO, the G7 and the Union European. For Western leaders, these international meetings at the highest level are an opportunity to move forward on several issues that sometimes divide them in their attitude towards the aggressor: Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Franceinfo takes stock of the main topics at the center of the discussions.
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New economic sanctions against Russia
US President Joe Biden flew to Europe on Wednesday with the aim of“impose new sanctions on Russia” and of “strengthen the existing sanctions”, in order to prevent Moscow from bypassing them, announced his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. The fact remains that after the first packages of very harsh economic and financial sanctions, the options for coordinated reprisals are reduced. Especially since some European countries are very dependent on Russian gas.
Washington has certainly decided to ban imports of Russian hydrocarbons and the United Kingdom has announced the end of its imports of Russian energy by the end of 2022. But Europe, for the moment, has refused to decree an embargo on Russian imports. These provide 40% of its natural gas needs and 30% for oil. Emmanuel Macron, however, did not rule out that the European Union could later attack imports of gas or oil. “Nothing is forbidden, nothing is taboo”he launched on March 11, in Versailles, after two days of meetings with European leaders.
In order to reduce the dependence of Europeans on Russian hydrocarbons, thehe United States, like the European Commission, could arrive with proposals. Joe Biden intends to announce “Joint action to strengthen Europe’s energy security”said his national security adviser. As for the European Commission and the Member States, they intend to take “coordinated measures to ensure adequate levels of gas storage”, from here “next winter”, but also “working together on joint purchasing” of gas in particular, “put in place the necessary solidarity mechanisms“and develop the interconnections of their network, according to draft conclusions that France Télévisions was able to consult.
Delivery of “offensive weapons” to Ukraine
The question of military aid to be provided to kyiv should be at the heart of discussions Thursday at the NATO summit, in particular the provision of anti-aircraft defense systems, necessary to counter the domination in the air of the Russian army, military power much better endowed than the Ukrainian army.
But just as on the economic level, the military capabilities and leeway of Westerners differ. How, then, to do more? After major strategic reversals by certain countries, such as Germany, which has decided to significantly increase its defense spending, and announcements of massive arms deliveries, how can we support the Ukrainian army even more?
Joe Biden has said and repeated that a direct military confrontation with Russia, for example through a no-fly zone, was excluded. But the American president added 800 million in military aid to the 200 million already advanced. This billion dollars comes “somehow to compensate for not delivering fighter jets to Ukraine, not making a no-fly zone, options considered too risky in an escalation with Russia”explains France Télévisions correspondent in Washington, Loïc de La Mornais.
Before the extraordinary NATO summit, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff called on Westerners to deliver “offensive weapons”a “deterrent” facing Moscow. “Our armed forces and our citizens are holding their ground with superhuman courage, but a war cannot be won without offensive weapons, without medium-range missiles, which can be a deterrent”pleaded Andriy Yermak, in a video published Tuesday evening on Telegram.
“Without a ‘Lend-Lease’ type program, we can only defend ourselves”, he argued. This armament program had been set up by the United States at the beginning of the Second World War to help the allied countries militarily. “It is impossible to defend effectively for a long time without a reliable air defense system capable of shooting down enemy missiles at long ranges”argued Andriy Yermak.
However, “we are not given them”he lamented. “Just like they don’t give us planes”, he added. This request is at this stage systematically rejected by Westerners, who do not want to intervene militarily in Ukraine for fear of a widening of the conflict with Russia.
Russia’s place in the G20
To increase the sanctions, Joe Biden’s national security adviser mentioned on Tuesday a possible exclusion of Russia from international bodies, in particular the G20, which brings together the 20 largest economies in the world. washington intends to consult his allies on this point. “We believe that Russia cannot act as if nothing has happened in international institutions and in the international community”argued Jake Sullivan.
China has already spoken out on Wednesday against excluding Moscow. “Russia is an important member country, no member has the right to expel another country”, said a spokesman for Chinese diplomacy to the press. The Chinese regime has refrained from condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Beijing has moved closer to Moscow and shares an open hostility towards Washington. The Russian ambassador to Indonesia has already announced that Jakarta has invited Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit scheduled for November in Bali.
Russia was already suspended indefinitely from the G8 after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The group of the largest industrialized countries then reverted to the G7 format.
Humanitarian aid and the reception of refugees
Joe Biden is due to unveil on Thursday “additional US contributions” for humanitarian actions in Ukraine and for welcoming millions of Ukrainians who have fled the war, pointed out his adviser. The humanitarian issue should too be discussed at the summit of the European Union.
More than 3.6 million refugees from Ukraine, mostly women and children, have arrived in the European Union in four weeks, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. A flood of unprecedented speed since the Second World War. Poland, Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Estonia are the EU countries facing “to the greatest challenges” concerning the reception of refugees, according to the European Commission.
Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, announced that her services had established a “index” taking into account for each of the Twenty-Seven the number of Ukrainian refugees received, that of asylum seekers of all nationalities combined last year, combined with the size of the country. This “index” should serve as a reference in the context of discussions between Member States on the distribution of efforts related to the care of refugees. The subject will also be on the agenda of a meeting of interior ministers on Monday. The countries are currently coordinating on a European solidarity platform, specifying their reception possibilities, and no compulsory relocation quota is currently on the agenda.