At stake are more than 100,000 Russian soldiers deployed along the Ukrainian border and it is feared that the Kremlin is plotting new aggression. But the Americans and Europeans insist that without these forces retreating, it is hard to believe that Moscow wants to negotiate seriously. A day after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov declared that Washington threatens “European security”, Russia’s representative in NATO, Alexander Grushko, expected Wednesday’s meeting between his country and NATO: “It is not an exaggeration to say that the moment of truth is the moment of truth. It comes in our relations with alliance”.
Moscow insists its “expectations are completely realistic” and Grushko says he hopes it will be Brussels meeting Allow “an in-depth discussion of the fundamental problems of European security”. Russia calls on Washington and NATO to ensure that Ukraine You will never be part of the Atlantic Military BlocWhich ones they consider unacceptable and which ones? The expansion of the alliance to the eastIncluding the end of military exercises near its borders.
Washington went to Geneva, where the bilateral meeting took place, and is available to negotiate “the dimensions and scope of these exercises, including strategic bombing,” and Missile installation near the Russian border, government officials told the press. Moscow has repeatedly refused to make concessions. However, it was learned that the US administration had secretly authorized the Additional aid worth $200 million (176 million euros) for Ukraine, to strengthen its defense capabilities in response to the ultimatum caused by the build-up of Russian forces, Weeks before the start of talks with Russia.
Ryabkov explained that the Russian will to continue dialogue depends on the outcome of the meeting with the diplomats of the 30 NATO member states, in Brussels, and the meeting the next day, in Vienna, of members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Security and Cooperation in Europe. “We will not be satisfied with the endless prolongation of this process,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted on Tuesday.
pressure and conditions
William Courtney, a former diplomat involved in the US-Soviet talks, says US proposals for missile exercises and their deployment mean a return to arms control measures and existing trust between the two countries – and that the US accuses Russia of destroying them in successive violations. For Kourtney, this situation leaves the Kremlin under pressure Ukraine attack, suffer severe economic sanctions He declared, accepting past-negotiated agreements without being seen internally as an “embarrassment and insult,” as he explained to RFP (Radio Free Europe, funded by the USA).
But most analysts think so Russian President Vladimir Putin Fully able to present future outcomes as victories and note that the Russian president has already won in some way, by leading Washington to negotiate aspects that Russia claims as its sphere of influence and to discuss scenarios that would push NATO to retreat from military presence to 1990s levels.
Some have pointed out the importance that the United States seems to attach to Russian demands. “We had the impression that the Americans took the Russian proposals seriously and studied them deeply,” said Ryabkov himself. He commented, “A spade is now being called and this in itself has a therapeutic effect on our relationship with the West.”
Kadri Lake, Russia expert in think tank The European Council on Foreign Relations heard by the newspaper New York times, He said that the seriousness with which the United States prepared for Monday’s meeting, by presenting a large and high-level delegation, sent an important signal to Moscow. Commenting on Ryabkov’s various statements and anticipating what might come next, the analyst said the leader “tried to maintain a flexible position that allows Putin to decide how he sees fit.” Thus, “it will be up to Putin to decide whether or not to continue these talks on the terms provided by the United States.”
