Dina Mahmoud (London, Capitals)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has underestimated the efficiency of the “Patriot” defense system that the United States delivered to Ukraine, indicating that it is less effective than the “S-300” system that his country possesses. Putin pledged, in a speech after a meeting of the State Council in Moscow, yesterday, that his country would destroy the American system if Washington sent it to Ukraine.
He added, “Russia will find an anti-Patriot missile that Washington handed over to Kiev, and the West must then find a replacement for it,” pointing out that his country takes into account what remains in the West’s weapons stores.
In turn, the Kremlin confirmed that providing the United States with Patriot missile systems to Ukraine, as announced during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington yesterday, will not contribute to settling the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, nor will it prevent Russia from achieving its goals.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “There were no signs of willingness to hold peace talks during Zelensky’s visit to Washington,” stressing that the US and Ukrainian presidents did not say anything that could be considered a possible intention to listen to Russia’s concerns.
The Ukrainian President met President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House, and held a joint press conference with him in which he thanked him for his decision to provide Kyiv with the advanced Patriot air defense system, on his first trip abroad since the crisis began on February 24.
In a speech delivered at the Capitol, the Ukrainian president affirmed that his country “will never surrender,” stressing that US assistance to Kiev is “not charity” but rather an “investment” in global security.
The Ukrainian president, to the sound of applause, entered the headquarters of the US Congress, which met with both houses to listen to the guest president’s speech yesterday, beginning his speech with a message of defiance to the Russian forces.
“Contrary to the worst expectations, Ukraine did not fall,” he said. Ukraine is alive and fighting,” stressing that his forces “are steadfast in their positions and will never surrender.” The Ukrainian president was keen to persuade Congress to continue financing the military aid that America provides to Ukraine.
With the Ukrainian crisis approaching its eleventh month, fears are rising in political analysis circles in the capitals of major countries of the world, that its continuation will lead to a broader military clash, involving major powers on the international scene.
Although the battles taking place in Ukraine since late February 2022 have not yet expanded in scope beyond its Ukrainian and Russian sides, their continuity without any prospect of ending them, even temporarily, opens the door wide to the worst possibilities and scenarios, which is what necessitates, according to analysts. Westerners, to formulate a comprehensive strategy, that would ensure security for both sides of the current crisis, and restore calm and stability to Europe and the world.
In this context, analysts call for the major Western powers to draw up a road map that first clarifies the dangers of the continuation of the current fighting, before reviewing the devastating effects that this will have on the two warring sides, stressing at the same time that clinging to the military option will not be in the interest of anyone. It will lead to more human and economic losses.
It is also necessary that this map define the gains that both sides will reap if they choose to proceed on the path of truce, and that it also includes a pledge to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia and Ukraine.
In statements published by the American magazine “Foreign Affairs” on its website, analysts said that the authors of such a map should emphasize the West’s respect for Russian interests, in return for Moscow’s commitment to the United Nations Charter, the principles of international law, and international treaties and agreements related to European security.
In this context, the West should set a timetable for unfreezing Russian assets that are currently subject to punitive measures, in return for the Kremlin’s decision to withdraw its forces from the areas it has controlled since the outbreak of the recent battles, provided that the sanctions are fully lifted once the war ends. officially.
At the same time, analysts called for postponing the resolution of the disputed Crimea peninsula file between Ukraine and Russia, to future negotiations, the date of which will be determined after the page of the current crisis is turned, in order to avoid discussing this thorny file, complicating efforts to end the current fighting, which has become More like a “critical war of attrition”.
According to these analysts, the European continent needs, at the present time, to develop a “coherent political plan aimed at ending the confrontations, including granting assurances and security guarantees to the Ukrainians, and taking clear and tangible steps in parallel with that, assuring the Russians that their country will return to Europe and the international arena, as it was.” The situation before the outbreak of the crisis ».
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