Russia accused the United States and its allies of promoting a “propaganda campaign” about an eventual invasion of Ukraine, while the White House insisted that the Kremlin must “de-escalate” its military presence on the border, in the first talks of a day of intense diplomatic negotiations.
The heads of diplomacy of both countries, Serguei Lavrov and Antony Blinken, spoke by phone as prelude to the long-awaited dialogue between the presidents of their countries, Vladimir Putin and Joe Bidenrespectively.
“The minister stressed that the propaganda campaign launched by the United States and its allies on the ‘Russian aggression’ against Ukraine pursues provocative goals,” said the statement published by the Russian Foreign Ministry after the conversation.
The head of Russian diplomacy pointed out that the White House and the European Union (EU) “ignored the main points” of Moscow’s demandsin particular his rejection of NATO expanding its operations into Ukraine, the Sputnik news agency reported.
Lavrov pointed out, in this sense, “the inadmissibility of actions that violate the commitments made at the highest level on the indivisibility of security in the Euro-Atlantic region.”
The US Secretary of State, for his part, explained that the diplomatic channels remained “open” to avoid a conflict, but would require Moscow to proceed to a “de-escalation”.
Blinken “made it clear that a diplomatic path to resolving the crisis remained open, but it would require a de-escalation from Moscow and discussions in good faith,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
An invasion of Ukraine, which according to Washington could happen “at any time” in the face of an increased Russian military presence on the border, would result in “a determined, massive and united transatlantic response,” the spokesman added.
Many countries, such as Germany or the Netherlands, have recently recommended their citizens to leave Ukraineand the American embassy in Kiev ordered this Saturday the withdrawal of its non-essential personnel.
Before his telephone conversation with Biden, Putin communicated this Saturday with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to try to reduce the tension.
After the talk with Macron, the Russian president again pointed out that the accusations that Russia is preparing an invasion of Ukraine are only “provocative speculation”, according to the Russian presidency in a statement.
The text insists on the Kremlin’s hypothesis that these accusations create “preconditions for possible aggressive actions by Ukrainian forces in Donbass”, a region in eastern Ukraine where Russia has supported armed separatists for eight years.
in the talk, Putin complained again that the United States and NATO refuse to accept “Russian initiatives” to lower tensions, that is, that the Alliance offers guarantees that it will not expand to the east or incorporate Ukraine and that it operates withdrawals of its military means in Western Europe.
Macron, for his part, told Putin that “a sincere dialogue is not compatible with a military escalation” on Russia’s border with Ukraine, and “conveyed the concerns of his European partners and allies,” the French presidency reported.
While the tension does not subside, a Russian anti-submarine ship forced a US submarine to leave Russian territorial waters in the Pacific on Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The destroyer “Marshal Shaposhnikov” detected the submarine near the Kuril Islands and ordered it to “surface immediately”, without receiving a response, the statement said.
The Russian ship then used “appropriate means” to force the US submarine “to leave Russian territorial waters at full speed,” the statement added.
Ukraine wants to put cold cloths
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is seeking a cold shoulder, said warnings of a Russian attack on his country “provoke panic and do not help” and called for firm evidence of an invasion.
The Ukrainian president’s statements come after White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned Friday that an invasion “could happen at any time.”
The Ukrainian authorities are trying to play down the prospects of an all-out war due to the devastating effects this could have on the battered economy and on public opinion, the AFP news agency said.
“Right now, the biggest enemy is panic in the country. And all this information is causing panic and not helping us,” the Ukrainian leader said, adding that if anyone has additional data on an invasion, they should hand it over.
