Since Tuesday, Russia claims to have ordered a partial withdrawal of the more than 100,000 soldiers massed on the Ukrainian borders.
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American leaders Joe Biden and German Olaf Scholz on Wednesday February 16 demanded that Russia take “genuine de-escalation measures” to avoid any conflict with Ukraine, otherwise threatening Moscow with sanctions again.
During a telephone conversation, the American president and the German chancellor agreed that “Russia must take real de-escalation measures” and that’“in the event of a new military aggression against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, Russia must expect extremely serious consequences”wrote the German chancellery in a press release.
Since Tuesday, Russia claims to have ordered a partial withdrawal of the more than 100,000 soldiers massed on the Ukrainian borders. Westerners greeted these signs of appeasement with caution.
“The risk of a new military aggression by Russia against Ukraine persists, the greatest vigilance is necessary”warned the two leaders, considering “that no significant withdrawal of Russian troops has been observed so far”.
However, both welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statements that “diplomatic efforts should be continued”. “It is now a question of pursuing them with determination”they said.
On Saturday, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries, including the United States, will hold a meeting devoted to the Ukrainian crisis on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. On the other hand, no representative of the Russian government is announced there.