The United States rejected on Wednesday January 26, in their written response submitted to Russia, one of Moscow’s main demands, by refusing to close NATO’s door to Ukraine, but claim to have proposed a “serious diplomatic path to avoid another war. The moment of truth is therefore approaching, when threats, sounds of boots, but also glimmers of hope alternate at a frantic pace.
On the same day on Wednesday, Washington said it expected a possible attack by Russian forces by the end of ” mid February “, while in Paris, a meeting of Russian and Ukrainian envoys on the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine resulted in a rare joint commitment to preserve the ceasefire.
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“Everything indicates” that Russian President Vladimir Putin “will use military force at some point, possibly between now and mid-February,” launched US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. She pointed out that the opening of the Beijing Olympics on February 4 could influence “on his schedule” to avoid offending Chinese President Xi Jinping during this major event for China.
Refusal to close NATO’s door to Ukraine
Tensions have steadily risen in recent months, with Moscow being accused by the West of having deployed more than 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border for a potential offensive. Russia, for its part, demands guarantees for its security, including the rejection of this country’s membership of NATO.
The Americans and the Atlantic Alliance delivered two separate letters to the Russians on Wednesday, demanding a written response to the draft treaties they had sent to Westerners in mid-December.
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But the United States has “clearly made known” that they were defending “the principle of the open door to NATO”, hammered the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken. In other words, there is no question of formally committing never to let Ukraine join the Alliance.
The Secretary of State reiterated Western warnings of an unprecedented response against Russia in the event of an invasion of the neighboring country. However, he assured that this American missive offered “a serious diplomatic path if Russia wishes it”, and said he was ready to speak again “in the next few days” with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
“We are prepared for the worst”
The US government is proposing to relaunch formal negotiations on the “arms control”, and discuss about “reciprocal transparency measures” on the “military positions” and “military exercises” in Europe. “We are again reaching out to Russia to try to pursue a path of dialogue (…) but we have also prepared for the worst”, summarized for his part the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.
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Will Russia take this outstretched hand, or will it view the rejection of its key demands as a casus belli? Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told Interfax that Russian diplomacy was now going ” to study “ the Western response, noting that the opposing camp had “took almost a month and a half to analyze” Moscow’s demands.