In the swing of forecasts for the future of the conflict in Ukraine, a spirit of optimism was blown, which replaced the depressed mood and preparations for the war, following the telephone conversations held by the French president Emanuel MacronWho returned to mediate between the hawks, with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin And President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zlansky And called on them to hold a summit on Ukraine. Despite this, the Kremlin announced today (Monday) that at this stage there are no concrete plans for the summit.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that despite this it would be possible to schedule a call or meeting at any time. “Tensions have risen around Ukraine,” he said, adding that diplomatic contacts were active. And that Putin would immediately turn to the Security Council of Russia.
Meanwhile, Presidents Putin and Biden have accepted French President Emmanuel Macron’s offer to hold a summit between the two. This is what the French presidency said after Macron met again with Putin and earlier with Biden. The summit will deal with security and strategic stability in Europe and will be extended even after the bilateral meeting to the other participants concerned. However, the summit could not take place if Russia invaded Ukraine.
An official in Macron’s government said Biden had asked for a meeting with Putin. “We are slowly changing the course of events. We are creating a diplomatic perspective that the Kremlin is accepting,” the adviser to the French president said.
Alongside this, the Reuters news agency reported that the Biden administration has prepared an initial package of sanctions against Russia in case it invades Ukraine. The sanctions will prevent US banks from processing deals with major Russian banks and sever existing ties.
Earlier, according to the French presidency, agreement had already been reached on several points. The most important of which is the convening of the “Triple Group” today within the framework of the Minsk-Russia, Ukraine and separatist agreements, with the aim of achieving a ceasefire on the line of contact between Ukraine and the territories controlled by pro-Russian separatists. In the last two days alone, close to 3,000 violations of the ceasefire have been recorded in these areas.
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The fear of Russia invading Ukraine at its peak; US warns: “Russia is preparing for an attack on Ukraine in the coming days” (Photo: Reuters)
The tripartite group, according to the Minsk agreements, includes Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Peace and Security in Europe. However, the group’s working committees also include representatives of the separatists, with whom – officially Ukraine does not speak. The resumption of negotiations should be “in the Normandy format” – Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany – on the basis of proposals submitted by Ukraine. The latter is ready to bring to the approval of its parliament proposals for amending the constitution that will allow a status of autonomy for the separatist regions. At the same time, President Zlansky promised not to comment in the meantime on Russian provocations.
Macron also spoke with US President Joe Biden and his European counterparts Olaf Schultz of Germany and Boris Johnson of Britain. According to the source, monitor Putin’s promise implementation and the pace of implementation.
The foreign ministers of Russia and France are due to meet in the coming days. Next, the foreign ministers and advisers to the leaders of Russia and the European powers will start preparing proposals for a dialogue on a renewed order of peace and security in Europe. “The risk is still high, but there is room for diplomacy. Every day that passes without war is a net gain for peace,” the source said.
According to Russian sources, Putin agreed with Macron that “diplomatic efforts should be accelerated,” and unsurprisingly blamed provocations and shootings at the dividing line on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zlansky also expressed support for the strengthening of the peace process and the immediate convening of the tripartite group in the face of continued shelling.
On the other hand, the American side continued to make pessimistic statements, leaving the door open for diplomacy. “Everything seems to be leading to a Russian invasion,” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinkan warned, adding that “President Biden will be ready to meet with President Putin anywhere, anytime.”
Regarding the planned meeting on Thursday in Europe (in Geneva or Helsinki, according to estimates, which may change) with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Blinkan asked his interviewer to “continue to follow”, noting that such a meeting would not take place if Russia invaded Ukraine.
Leading US media outlets have released details from US intelligence sources that Biden has determined that Putin decided to attack, based on an order given by the Russian president to his subordinates to continue preparing a full-scale attack.
U.S. intelligence has obtained the information regarding this order, and claims the Russian military and senior Defense Ministry officials are working to implement it. “Field commanders are working on specific plans to manage the movement of units in their sector during an invasion. On the other hand, information has been leaked that Western countries are holding secret talks on the Ukrainian underground’s armament if Russia occupies Kiev,” it said.
Ukrainian military forces in the shadow of tensions with Russia (Photo: Reuters)And on the ground, after many explosions were reported in downtown Donetsk, pro-Russian rebels in the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region claimed that Ukrainian forces had killed two civilians and destroyed five houses. This is the first time in the current round that the separatists have accused Ukraine of killing civilians on its territory. A statement from the “People’s Republic of Lugansk” said two civilians had been killed near the Russian border. Shortly afterwards, Russia announced that it was launching a criminal investigation into the alleged deaths of the two civilians.
These messages on the Russian side have seemingly reinforced fears in the West that this is a staging of incidents and vulnerabilities that would justify a possible invasion. For example, the president of the “Separatist Republic of Donetsk”, Dennis Pushilin, announced the completion of evictions of the families of the fighters. But conversations with local residents indicate that most of the evacuees, women and especially children, were forced to board buses. There is also no permit for the number of 40,000 evacuees to the Rostov region, which was provided by the Russian authorities.
Either way, Pushilin went on to declare that he would call for Russian help if Ukraine “continued its invasion plans.” However, observers assume that Russian forces, even without an official uniform, are already in the two separatist districts of Ukraine. The Israeli company Amazatsat, for its part, announced an increase in the concentration of Russian forces in the Crimean peninsula, which doubled their presence from 60 to 125 battalions.