The hypothesis of a summit between the leaders of the United States, Joe Biden, and Russia, Vladimir Putinintended to redirect the crisis around Ukraine, has been ruled out for now by Moscow, while tension continues, fueled by skirmishes in the area.
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The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, proposed this Sunday to the leaders of Russia and the United States to hold a summit on security in Europe, while his Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, holds contacts with his American counterparts. , Antony Blinken, and Russian, Sergei Lavrov.
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The option of a meeting at the highest level between the Americans and the Russians, however, does not seem close..
“Of course, we do not rule it out. If necessary, the presidents of Russia and the United States can decide at any time to maintain contacts, either by phone or physically. It will be their decision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Monday.
But he stressed that at this time there are no specific plans for a possible summit, and therefore it is premature to talk about it.
“Right now there is a clear understanding of the need to continue the dialogue at the ministerial level” and, thus, he took it for granted that Lavrov and Blinken will meet this week.
follow the tension
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has called an expanded meeting of the Russian Security Council for this Monday in which to address the tensions around Ukraine and the military escalation in Donbas.
“The situation is, in fact, extremely tense and we do not see any signs of a easing of tension so far. The provocations and shelling are getting more and more intense and this, of course, gives rise to very deep concern,” spokesman Peskov said. .
According to the Russian Minister for Emergency Situations, Alexandr Chupriyán, more than 61,000 inhabitants have fled since last Friday from Donetsk and Lugansk, the two pro-Russian areas supported by Moscow and in conflict with the Ukrainian Army since 2014.
Skirmishes in the area continue. According to the Kiev authorities this Monday there were fourteen artillery attacks on Ukrainian positions.
According to the Russian agency Interfax, Lugansk in turn reported on Monday two deaths and three civilians injured in the last day as a result of alleged attacks by the Ukrainian Army.. Donetsk for its part reported one civilian dead.
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International procedures
The foreign ministers of the European Union expressed on Monday their support for diplomacy to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, including with a summit between the leaders of Russia and the United States, but stressed that they have sanctions ready for Moscow if it finally attacks its neighbor. .
“As many diplomatic tools as we could imagine should be mobilized,” said the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, upon arrival at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in which they will address the crisis in Ukraine, also with his counterpart from that country, Dmitri Kuleba.
“It is up to Russia to resolve this crisis,” said the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, who asked the Kremlin to “return to the negotiating table.”
In this regard, Ukraine’s Defense Minister, Oleksii Reznikov, considered today that at this time there are still possibilities for a political-diplomatic solution to a major war, despite the escalation of military tension in Donbas and the permanence of Russian soldiers in Belarus.
At a press conference, the Minister of Defense reiterated that the command of the Armed Forces does not minimize the threat of a major offensive by Russia, but currently does not see that all the necessary factors exist for it.
Reznikov also denied signs of a military withdrawal by Russia, while estimating almost 150,000 Russian soldiers on his border, including land, sea and air troops.
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Russian troops will only return to their garrisons when there is an objective need for it, and it will largely depend on the actions of the West, said today the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, Viktor Gulevich, who stressed that the decision it will be taken by Minsk and Moscow when appropriate.
Suspended flights
The French airline Air France announced on Monday the suspension of the two flights it had planned this Tuesday to and from Kiev “as a precaution”, given the situation in Ukraine. The company justified this decision because “the safety of flights, customers and crew is an absolute imperative.”
In addition, the airlines of the Lufthansa group will temporarily cancel most of their flights to Ukraine starting this Monday. The Austrian Austrian Airlines, the Swiss Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings also belong to this group.
EFE
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