The chairman of the conservative European People’s Party (EPP) faction, Manfred Weber, called for more active participation of the European Union in resolving the crisis around Ukraine after a telephone conversation between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the evening of December 30 at the initiative of Moscow. “When discussing the future security architecture in Europe, the EU must sit at the negotiating table as one of the main parties involved,” said the leader of the largest faction in the European Parliament (EP) in an interview published on Friday, December 31, by the Funke Mediengruppe.
According to Weber, this requires “the cohesion of the EU member states, as well as the emancipation of the EU in matters of foreign policy and security.” “We should not be a supplicant, but a factor of power,” he said, adding that this is possible only if all EU states have the will and unanimity to do so.
Weber called it an important step forward that the dialogue between the Western community and the Russian leadership is again increasingly active. “At the same time, for the most part, the Kremlin’s unacceptable demands do not form the basis of the negotiations,” he stressed. Rather, there should be a discussion “on an equal footing, which respects the interests and sovereignty of all states,” the politician said.
What is reported about the results of the conversation between Putin and Biden
During a telephone conversation between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin, the American leader called for a de-escalation of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev and promised that the United States and its allies would “decisively respond” in the event of a further invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine, the press service of Bely said following the conversation. Houses.
Washington is convinced that it is up to those countries that want to join NATO, and not third parties, to decide the issue of joining NATO, a representative of the United States administration confirmed, commenting on the results of the telephone conversation during a briefing. “Our position is absolutely clear. The decisions should be made by the sovereign countries themselves, in consultation with the alliance, and not someone else,” he said.
The Kremlin press service indicated that Putin, in a conversation with Biden, called the possibility of adopting large-scale sanctions against Russia in the event of an escalation of the situation around Ukraine “a serious mistake, in fact, threatening a complete rupture of Russian-American relations.”
Negotiations between Russia and the United States on the crisis over Ukraine
This was the second meeting of the presidents this month. Prior to that, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin talked on December 7 – then the conversation took place via videoconference. At the same time, the leaders touched upon bilateral relations, issues of strategic stability, cyber security, as well as the situation around Ukraine and NATO’s eastward expansion.
Russia and the United States are expected to hold talks in Geneva on January 10 on Ukraine and arms control. Two days later, on January 12, talks on security issues in Europe are to be held in the NATO-Russia Council format. A meeting in the format of the Russian Federation – Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is scheduled for January 13.
In mid-December, against the background of the aggravation of the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border, Moscow sent a list of security requirements to Washington and the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance. They imply, in particular, the receipt of written confirmation that NATO will not expand eastward and will not accept Ukraine into its membership.
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