The presidents of the United States and France, Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron, each spoke separately yesterday with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, at a time when Washington fears a ‘imminent’ offensive in Ukraine by Moscow troops.
The phone conversation between Biden and Putin lasted about 62 minutes. On the balance of the meeting, the US presidency said it warned Moscow that attacking Ukraine would have “quick and severe costs.”
Biden warned that, although his country is prepared for diplomatic channels on the situation in Ukraine, is “equally prepared” for scenarios other than diplomacy in coordination with its European allies.
The call “was professional and substantive and lasted over an hour. There was no fundamental change in what has been going on for several weeks,” the official, who asked not to be identified, told reporters yesterday.
For its part, the Kremlin yesterday accused Washington of fabricating provocations around Ukraine and denounced “speculation about a supposed ‘Russian invasion’.” In addition, Russia denounced that the US “hysteria peak” over Ukraine reached its “climax” and stressed that Biden and Putin agreed to “continue” the dialogue on the crisis.
yesterday’s was the first direct conversation between the two leaders since December 30when Biden and Putin made their differences on Ukraine clear.
By the way, the United States asked its citizens on Friday to leave Ukrainian territory in the next 24 to 48 hours due to the “clear possibility” that Russia will attack Ukraine during the Winter Olympics, which are held until February 20 in Beijing.
Twenty other countries joined this call to evacuate their citizens, including UK, Netherlands, Germany, Canada and Japan. Washington even announced yesterday that it ordered the departure of all its “non-essential” diplomatic officials who are on Ukrainian territory.
We do not give Russia a blank check, we have to be vigilant. There are no signs that they will go on the offensive, but we are vigilant to prevent the worst
The other diplomatic round yesterday was staged by Paris and Moscow. Macron and Putin held another dialogue by telephone that lasted almost two hours. “Sincere dialogue is not compatible with military escalation,” France stressed.
Sources from the Elysee indicated that Putin reiterated to Macron that his intentions in Ukraine are not offensive, statements that Paris takes with “prudence” since the military deployment on the Ukrainian border is “consistent” and is “ready for attack”.
However, the language used by Paris is not as clear-cut as that of Washington when it comes to Putin’s intentions. “We do not give Russia a blank check, we have to remain vigilant. There are no signs that they are going to go on the offensive, but we are vigilant to prevent the worst,” the French sources said.
Putin, meanwhile, He complained again that the US and NATO refuse to accept “Russian initiatives” to lower tensions, that is, that the Alliance offers guarantees that it will not expand to the east or incorporate Ukraine and that it operates withdrawals of its military means in Western Europe.
For their part, the foreign ministers of the United States and Russia also met yesterday by telephone, which opened another front for dialogue during yesterday’s session.
The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, denounced that there is a “propaganda campaign launched by the United States and its allies about a ‘Russian aggression’ and is intended to provoke and embolden the Kiev authorities” in the conflict in the region of Donbas, a region in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting pro-Russian separatists backed by Moscow for eight years.
While his American counterpart, Antony Blinken, said that his country is open to dialogue, but demanded a “de-escalation” in the zone of tension to continue with these efforts.
These multi-party talks come after Washington warned this Friday that a Russian attack on Ukrainian territory could happen “at any time”.
In the midst of this crossfire of statements and maximum tension, the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, yesterday asked the Ukrainians not to panic in the face of the drastic increase in information about an imminent Russian attack. Zelenski affirmed that there is “little data” accurate on an invasion.
By the way, more than 5,000 people attended the March for Unity yesterday in Kiev (Ukrainian capital) to express their willingness to resist a possible Russian aggression.
This week, tension in eastern Europe was heightened by the start of military training and exercises by Russia and Belarus near the Ukrainian border. However, the Kremlin has stated that it will withdraw all troops once these maneuvers are over.
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