According to Biden, a Russian attack on Ukraine is still very possible. So far, the United States has had no evidence that Russian units have been withdrawn, Biden said in a televised speech on Tuesday. At the same time, Biden was cooperative on the Russian security concerns. The US would offer new arms controls and other measures. Russia had previously announced a partial withdrawal of troops stationed near the Ukrainian border.
Biden – who again threatened severe sanctions in the event of a Russian attack – stressed that he and Russian President Putin agreed that the diplomatic path should be pursued further. “We should give diplomacy every chance of success.” And he also addressed the Russian people directly: “To the citizens of Russia: you are not our enemy.”
Scholz: “De-escalation urgently needed”
“De-escalation is urgently needed,” stressed Germany’s Chancellor Scholz hours earlier after a meeting with Putin in Moscow. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that parts of the armed forces will return to their barracks after the end of some maneuvers. Other military exercises – also in Belarus – would continue.
Ukraine’s response was muted. “Only when we see a withdrawal do we believe in a de-escalation,” said Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Moscow tell a lot. Basically, he rated the diplomatic efforts of the past few weeks as a success. Moscow was prevented from escalating the situation, said Kuleba. “Today is already mid-February and diplomacy is still working.”
NATO was also skeptical. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg rated the fact that Russia was signaling a readiness for dialogue as positive. “That gives cause for cautious optimism,” he said.
Scholz: partial deduction of the army “good sign”
During his visit to Moscow, German Chancellor Scholz emphasized that the withdrawal of parts of the Russian army was a “good sign”. “For us Germans, but also for all Europeans, it is clear that sustainable security cannot be achieved against Russia, but only with Russia,” said Scholz. He reiterated that further aggression against Ukraine would have serious consequences for Russia.
When it came to sanctions, Scholz again did not directly address the fact that in the event of a war the Baltic Sea pipeline “Nord Stream 2” would also be part of the sanctions package. But everyone involved knew what was at stake, he added.
Scholz tries to mediate in Moscow
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Scholz tried to de-escalate the Ukraine crisis.
Scholz criticized Russia’s actions against the non-governmental organization Memorial and complained that the conviction of government critic Alexej Navalny was not in line with the principles of the rule of law.
After the meeting, Putin stressed that Russia did not want a new war in Europe. “As to whether we want it or not: of course not!” he said. Moscow is still willing to negotiate security guarantees with NATO and the United States. Putin assured Ukraine that it should remain a transit country for Russian gas even after the Baltic Sea pipeline “Nord Stream 2” went into operation.
“Deliberate Ambiguity”
In an analysis, the “New York Times” sees a “war of signals” on all sides. The “complex game” is played with “deliberate ambiguity,” increasing the risk of a “fatal miscalculation” similar to that of real conflict. It is conveyed how a conflict would proceed instead of actually carrying it out.
Exchange of blows on the subject of NATO
At the same time, he called on the West to put pressure on the leadership in Kiev to implement the Minsk peace plan for eastern Ukraine. Putin had recently warned several times against Ukraine’s admission to NATO because this would mean war – for example if Kiev wanted to use military force to take back the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Russia had annexed in 2014.
For years, promises have been made that NATO will not expand, Putin claimed. Russia is demanding written guarantees that this will not happen. The question of Ukraine’s admission to the alliance must now be decided. Putin once again rejected the notion that NATO is a peaceful defense alliance.
Putin said in Serbia, NATO bombed Belgrade without a mandate from the UN Security Council. Scholz disagreed and emphasized that genocide had been prevented at the time. Putin replied that today there is also a “genocide” in eastern Ukraine. Scholz later contradicted this description in front of journalists: “That’s a strong word, (…) but it’s wrong.”
Duma: Putin must decide on Luhansk and Donetsk
Meanwhile, the Russian parliament, the Duma, has called on Putin to decide on the recognition of the two breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine as “people’s republics”. NATO and Brussels immediately warned the Kremlin against such a step. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter that Russia would be breaking the Minsk agreements.
Russia sees itself as the protecting power of the Russian-speaking population in eastern Ukraine. Putin complained that Ukraine oppresses the Russian language. According to UN estimates, more than 14,000 people have died in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, most of them in the area controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
Scholz’s visit was once again overshadowed by a cyber attack on Ukrainian institutions. The Ministry of Defense and two important state-owned banks were targeted, as Kiev announced with indirect reference to Russia. “It cannot be ruled out that the aggressor will resort to dirty tricks,” the competent authority said. As recently as January, several websites of the Ukrainian government were exposed to a severe cyber attack that paralyzed several ministry websites. In addition, the threatening words “Be afraid and expect the worst” could be read in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.