The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, considered this Tuesday that it is “clear” that U.S and NATO decided to ignore the concerns of Russia in terms of security, by rejecting Russian demands in the context of the confrontation over Ukraine.
(Read here: The pulse of the United States and Russia in the UN for the crisis in Ukraine)
“We are analyzing the written responses received from the United States and NATO … but it is clear that Russia’s principled concerns have been ignored,” the Russian president said after a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
(Also: Russia assures that it will not back down in the face of US sanctions threats)
The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, urged on Tuesday – after a joint meeting – his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to immediately withdraw the Russian troops from the border with Ukraineaccording to a statement from the US State Department after his phone call.
“The secretary of state emphasized the willingness of the United States, bilaterally and together with allies and partners, to continue a substantive exchange with Russia on mutual security concerns,” Blinken spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
Blinken “urged immediate Russian de-escalation and the withdrawal of troops and equipment from Ukraine’s borders,” Price said.
“He stressed that a new invasion of Ukraine would have swift and severe consequences and urged Russia to follow a diplomatic path.” A senior State Department official told reporters that Lavrov gave “no indication” of an imminent de-escalation of Moscow on the border with Ukraine during his call with Blinken.
“Nothing we heard would give any indication that we would see a change in the next few days” in terms of reducing tensions, he said. “We keep hearing those assurances that Russia is not planning to invade, but certainly every action we see says otherwise, with the continued buildup of troops and heavy weapons moving toward the border,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to this person in charge, the next step will be the delivery by Russia to U.Son an unspecified date, of a “formal response” validated by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the letter sent last week by Washington to Moscow.
In this letter, the US government rejected Russia’s security demands, but opened the door to negotiations on the deployment of missiles and reciprocal limits on military exercises. Once the formal Russian response is delivered, the different parties will be able to talk about how the process continues, the senior US official said.
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E But the United States emphasizes the need for Russia to withdraw some of the more than 100,000 troops it has amassed on the Ukraine border, including inside Belarus. “If President Putin has no intention of war or regime change, Secretary (Blinken) told Foreign Minister Lavrov, then this is the time to withdraw troops and heavy weapons,” the senior official said. .
The United States accuses the Kremlin of preparing a invasion of Ukrainea country already torn apart since 2014 by a civil war in the East between forces in Kiev and pro-Russian separatists backed by Moscow.
Moscow denies war intentions, but conditions the de-escalation to guarantees for its security. This conversation is the first between the two rival powers since the United States and NATO last week gave Russia their written response to the demands made, also in writing, in mid-December by the Kremlin.
Ukraine wants to professionalize its army and recruit 100,000 soldiers
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky announced on Tuesday a plan to professionalize the army, with the aim of ending military service and recruiting 100,000 troops in three years, amid fears of a Russian invasion.
The Ukrainian military, which was in a dire state eight years ago, has been propped up with Western help since 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Kiev’s conflict with pro-Russian separatists that has left more than 13,000 dead. .
The president signed a decree before parliament to increase the current contingent of some 250,000 soldiers in three years by 100,000, with the creation of 20 new brigades.
The plan plans to raise wages and give more benefits to soldiers, their families and veterans. It also seeks to move to a professional army and end military service by 2024, the year Zelensky’s current term ends.
“This decree does not have its raison d’etre in that there is an upcoming war. It is aimed at soon having peace,” said the president.
EFE
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