Against Russia’s opposition, the USA put the Ukraine crisis on the agenda of the UN Security Council meeting. The US and its western allies fear a Russian invasion of Ukraine. They demand a withdrawal of the 100,000 Russian soldiers gathered along the entire Ukrainian border.
The fronts were already hardened at the beginning of the meeting, the USA accused the Kremlin of further planning to increase its troops in Belarus. “We have seen evidence that Russia intends to expand this presence to more than 30,000 troops” by early February, said US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
“This is the largest – hear me loud and clear – mobilization of troops in Europe in decades,” Thomas-Greenfield said. These are combat units “ready to carry out offensive actions in Ukraine”. Washington does not want a confrontation, but in the event of an invasion of Ukraine, the US would act quickly. The USA and Great Britain are now expanding their military engagement in Eastern Europe: Washington wants to move additional US troops to Eastern European NATO countries. London plans to double the number of British troops in the region and to supply Estonia with self-defense weapons.
Russia locates “hysteria”
Thomas-Greenfield’s Russian counterpart, Wassili Nebensia, in turn accused the West of “deceiving the international community”. Stationed soldiers are on the territory of Russia, which would not have caused hysteria in similar events in the past, said Nebensia. Instead, Ukrainians are currently being brainwashed and fed Russia phobia and radical thinking. The UN ambassador denied that 100,000 soldiers had actually been massed at the border. He made no concessions to ease the situation.
Ukraine with serious allegations
On the other hand, the Ukrainian UN ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsja raised serious allegations once morest the neighboring country. Ukraine is threatened by regarding 130,000 Russian military personnel, he said. There are also around 3,000 Russian soldiers in the Donbass. Referring to the Russian denials, the diplomat said that he himself might only believe actions such as a troop withdrawal. In any case, Ukraine has no aggressive plans and is committed to peace, Kyslytsja specifically ruled out a military offensive once morest the pro-Russian separatist areas in the east of the country or the Crimean peninsula – annexed by Russia in violation of international law.
Nebensia had left the meeting before his Ukrainian colleague took the floor. The circumstances of the meeting showed how isolated Russia is with its position internationally. Apart from three abstentions, only China and its partner Russia voted once morest the deliberations. In view of Moscow’s denials regarding the allegations, there is no basis for the public meeting, said UN Ambassador Zhang Jun: “What we urgently need now is quiet diplomacy.”
NATO combat use excluded
The Kremlin denies planning an invasion. For its part, Moscow wants to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO and justifies this with its own security interests. It is unclear what plans Russian President Vladimir Putin is actually pursuing with increasing troops near Ukraine.
That’s what NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on the BBC on Sunday: There is “no certainty” regarding Russia’s intentions. However, a significant Russian deployment with many soldiers and heavy military technology can be observed, which is accompanied by “threatening rhetoric”. “There is a real risk and that is precisely why NATO allies are increasing their support for Ukraine.”
However, Stoltenberg ruled out NATO combat troops in Ukraine. NATO military trainers are deployed there, the alliance is also helping to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities and is supplying military equipment. However, since Ukraine is not a NATO state, the guarantee of 100 percent security that members can claim does not apply to the country, according to Stoltenberg.
demands and rejections
NATO and the USA each responded in writing to the Russian demands last week. However, both sides showed no willingness to negotiate, especially with a view to binding commitments for an end to NATO’s eastward expansion. Russia, in turn, demanded further explanations: Moscow’s approach to the Ukraine crisis also depends on answers from the member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Russia had written to the OSCE countries asking how they would ensure that their own security was not strengthened at the expense of the interests of another state. If they don’t intend to, “They should explain why. This will be a key issue in determining our future proposals, which we will report to Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Lavrov said. Russia will not only make promises from the West, but will ask for legally binding security guarantees.
Conversations on the go
In addition to the UN Security Council meeting, international crisis diplomacy efforts are also continuing. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson once more warned once morest a Russian attack on Ukraine. Russia must “take a step back from the brink,” Johnson said. On Tuesday he will travel to Kiev, where he will meet the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelensky, the government in London announced on Monday. A planned phone call with Russia’s President Putin had to be postponed. The foreign ministers of Russia and the United States will once more discuss the situation over the phone on Tuesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also wants to try to ease tensions between Ukraine and Russia on Thursday in Kiev. Consultations with Selenski are planned, it said. He saw only a limited risk of a Russian invasion: At the moment there is no greater escalation than there was a year ago. Foreign journalists would like to see for themselves. “Are there tanks on the streets here? No, but that’s how it feels when you’re not here,” said Zelenski.
In a new phone call, however, Putin and his French colleague Emmanuel Macron explored the possibility of a personal meeting. The Kremlin announced on Monday evening in Moscow that work is being carried out on such an encounter in addition to the telephone contacts. Macron and Putin had only been on the phone for a long time on Friday. In Paris, it was reported from the Elysee Palace that both heads of state maintained their will to de-escalate.