The meeting between US Secretary of State Blinken and his counterpart Lavrov in Geneva does not bring any breakthrough, but the dialogue is to be continued. The Duma wants to recognize the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as states.
The meeting was shorter than expected. Midst heavy tensions in the Ukraine conflict Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US colleague Antony Blinken met in Geneva on Friday afternoon for crisis talks. The two chief diplomats greeted each other with a handshake in front of the flags of their countries in a hotel on Lake Geneva. And both said right at the start that they did not expect a breakthrough in the talks. After the meeting, the two chief diplomats agreed that the dialogue should be continued.
Blinken once again warned Russia against an invasion of Ukraine. “We didn’t expect a big breakthrough to be achieved today. But I think we are now on a clear path in terms of understanding each other’s concerns and positions,” said Blinken after the approximately one-and-a-half hour conversation. He assumes that he will be able to communicate his concerns and ideas about the crisis to Russia in more detail and in writing in the coming week.
“And we have agreed to hold further talks afterwards,” said Blinken. The aim is also to respond to Russia’s demands. At the same time, however, he made it clear again that certain principles are non-negotiable for the USA. This includes, for example, NATO’s “open door policy”. Among other things, Russia is demanding an end to the eastward expansion of the defense alliance.
Lavrov warns of “anti-Russian hysteria”
The Russian foreign minister described the meeting as “open and useful”. The dialogue will continue, he announced. President Vladimir Putin is always ready to get in touch with US President Joe Biden. However, any contact between the two heads of state should be well prepared. Lavrov called on the West to end the “anti-Russian hysteria” in the Ukraine conflict. Russia does not threaten anyone and does not invade any country, he said. Blinken asked him to de-escalate the situation. However, NATO is working against his country, Lavrov said. Russia is concerned about sending weapons and military advisers to Ukraine.
The meeting was initiated by the US side given the tensions surrounding the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Before the meeting, Moscow again drew attention to demands. For the first time, the Russian Foreign Ministry explicitly called for the withdrawal of NATO troops from Romania and Bulgaria. This is part of the security guarantees that the government in Moscow is demanding from the West, it said.
“Independence” of Eastern Ukraine
At the same time, it was announced that the Russian parliament will consider proposals to recognize the two pro-Russian separatist areas in eastern Ukraine as independent states next week. It is about the People’s Republic of Donetsk and the People’s Republic of Luhansk. There are concerns about the safety of the Russians living there, Duma President Vyacheslav Volodin said. However, the Russian Presidential Office is reacting cautiously to the planned deliberations of the Duma. First of all, it is important not to fuel tensions any further, says spokesman Dmitri Peskov.
The Ukrainian secret service accused Russia of specifically recruiting mercenaries and having them trained in separatist-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine. In addition, fuel, tanks, artillery and mortar shells were brought into the region from Russia in a secret operation, according to a statement by the secret service.
Meanwhile, Russia, as part of its military maneuvers with Belarus, also relocated two battalions of the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system to the neighboring country. The first soldiers and material arrived in Belarus this week, reports Interfax, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. The Allied Resolve exercise is scheduled to take place in February on the border of NATO members Poland and Lithuania in the west and on the border with Ukraine in the south.
British want to send soldiers to Poland
The British government is considering sending hundreds more soldiers to the Baltic States and Poland, according to a report. This is intended to increase deterrence against Russia, the Times newspaper reported, citing a source at the Ministry of Defense in London. There are currently 830 British soldiers stationed in Estonia, and another 140 as part of a NATO mission in Poland. The additional units could be deployed quickly should NATO allies in Eastern Europe face an increased Russian troop presence on their borders, the source quoted the paper as saying.
While the US and its western allies are demanding a withdrawal of Russian troops, Moscow is demanding security guarantees and an end to the eastward expansion of the western military alliance NATO. Efforts to ease the tension have been in full swing for the past few weeks, but have so far produced no tangible results.
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