The UN Security Council is meeting Monday on the Ukrainian crisis at the request of the United States, on the eve of a telephone meeting scheduled between the heads of Russian and American diplomacy.
With its NATO allies, Washington is stepping up its efforts to dissuade Russia from invading Ukraine, while preparing new sanctions against Moscow.
“A face-to-face meeting is not planned” between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but “a telephone conversation will take place on Tuesday”, announced the spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova.
Faced with the threat of an invasion, Kiev on Sunday called on Russia to withdraw its troops massed along the border between the two countries and to continue dialogue with the West if it “seriously” wants a de-escalation of tensions.
The United States and the United Kingdom brandished the threat of new sanctions against Russia on Sunday.
London has indicated that it wants to target Russian interests “which directly interest the Kremlin”. Moscow responded on Monday by accusing the British authorities of preparing an “attack” against Russian companies.
“This is an open attack against Russian business,” commented Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, promising a “response” if necessary.
In Washington, two elected Democrats and Republicans said that Congress was close to an agreement on a bill providing for new economic sanctions against Russia.
Among the arsenal of sanctions mentioned, the United Kingdom and the United States plan to target the strategic Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, or Russians’ access to transactions in dollars, the queen currency in trade. international.
US President Joe Biden receives on Monday the Emir of Qatar, a strong ally of Washington, with whom he will discuss, among other things, gas security in Europe.
Faced with the prospect of these new sanctions, Mr. Lavrov indicated that Russia wanted “good, fair, mutually respectful relations with the United States, as with any other country in the world”.
Russia “does not want to remain in a position where (its) security is regularly violated”, he continued.
Disinformation
On Monday, Russia will likely try to prevent the 15-member council from meeting, “but the Security Council is united. Our voices are united in calling on the Russians to explain themselves,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Sunday.
“We will enter the room ready to listen to them, but we will not be distracted by their propaganda,” she added. “And we’re going to be ready to respond to any misinformation they try to spread during this meeting.”
Russia has been accused since the end of 2021 of having massed up to 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border in preparation for an attack.
Moscow denies any plan in this direction, while demanding written guarantees for its security, including the rejection of Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the end of the military reinforcement of the Atlantic Alliance in the East.
This key request was rejected by the United States this week in a written response to Moscow. The Kremlin said it was considering its reaction.
In an interview with CBS, US Under-Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said she saw “signs” that Russia would be interested in a dialogue on the US-NATO response.
The chairman of the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee considered it crucial that Washington send a strong message to President Vladimir Putin, namely that any aggression against Ukraine would have a very high cost.
“Putin won’t stop at Ukraine,” said Senator Bob Menendez.
Deploy Troops
Several Western countries have announced in recent days the dispatch of new contingents to Eastern Europe.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will propose this week to NATO a deployment of troops to respond to the rise of “Russian hostility” towards Ukraine.
An announcement appreciated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba, who both hailed the British “leadership”.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki are expected in Kiev this week.
Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand, whose country provides military assistance to Ukraine, arrived there on Sunday for a two-day visit. She announced the movement of Canadian military troops to western Ukraine and the temporary repatriation of all non-essential employees from her embassy in Kyiv.