Two days before the first anniversary of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, kyiv is trying to increase diplomatic pressure on Moscow.
China presented Wednesday, February 22 in Moscow its vision for the “political settlement” of the conflict in Ukraine, the first anniversary of which falls on Friday. At the same time, the UN Secretary General denounced the“affront to our collective conscience” caused a year ago by the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the opening of the General Assembly.
Franceinfo returns to the highlights of the day on the front of the war in Ukraine.
China to present its “plan” for the “political settlement” of the war
In Moscow, the head of Chinese diplomacy Wang Yi was received on Wednesday at the Kremlin, after meeting with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov. This after the United States and NATO expressed concern that the Chinese were preparing, which they denied, to supply Russia with weapons to continue its military operations in Ukraine.
“The Chinese partners shared with us their thoughts on the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, as well as their approaches to its political settlement”commented the Russian Foreign Ministry, after the talks. “There was no talk of a separate (peace) ‘plan'”, he noted, however. Beijing has promised to make public this week its proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine.
The conflict, an “affront” to the “collective conscience” of the UN
Kyiv and its allies hoped on Wednesday night to garner the widest possible support for a resolution to be considered by the UN General Assembly calling for a peace “fair and sustainable”a year after the start of the Russian invasion. “The first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine represents a grim milestone, for the Ukrainian people and for the international community. This invasion is an affront to our collective conscience.”said Antonio Guterres, repeating his fears of an escalation of the conflict.
Russia’s response to Westerners, through the voice of the Russian ambassador Vassili Nebenzia from the rostrum of the General Assembly, was not long in coming: “In their desire to inflict defeat on Russia in any way possible, it is not only Ukraine they can sacrifice, they are ready to plunge the whole world into the abyss of war”he launched.
Joe Biden returns to the suspension of the New Start treaty
Asked in Warsaw (Poland) about Vladimir Putin’s announcement to suspend the New Start nuclear disarmament treaty, the American president briefly replied: “Serious mistake.” Joe Biden was speaking before meeting the leaders of NATO countries from Central and Eastern Europe (B9, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland , Romania and Slovakia), in the presence of the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg.
In a joint statement, the nine countries stressed that they would continue to strengthen their “posture of deterrence and defense on the entire eastern flank, from the Baltic to the Black Sea”.
Vladimir Putin evokes fights on the “historic lands” of Russia
On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin made an appearance for a few minutes at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow where a great patriotic concert was taking place. “Today I was told by the (military) hierarchy that fighting is going on within our historic lands for our people”he launched, on stage, in front of tens of thousands of his compatriots.
He paid tribute to the Russian soldiers deployed in Ukraine who “fight with heroism, courage and valor: we are proud of them”. The day before, Vladimir Putin had delivered a virulent speech, swearing to continue “methodically” the assault unleashed in Ukraine and accusing the West of wanting “finish us once and for all”. Joe Biden had replied to him shortly after the West “did not plot to attack Russia”.