En the conflict of Ukraine, the swords are raised, and Russia awaiting a written response from USA to your security demands to decide whether or not to continue negotiating. This was specified on Tuesday by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, after meeting in Moscow with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock. The tension in the area has not subsided, as evidenced by Russia’s categorical refusal to start withdrawing some of the 100,000 soldiers deployed along the border with Ukraine, and the warning from the head of German diplomacy that if the Kremlin used the gas supply as a pressure weapon, the continuity of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be at risk.
“We await the answers that we have been promised in order to continue the negotiations“, reported Lavrov. During the past week, Russia held talks with US representatives, NATO and in the forum of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe about its strategic demands on the continent, which include the withdrawal of the Invitation to join Georgia and Ukraine in NATO, and the capacity of the Russian veto to the military deployments that the Atlantic Alliance can carry out in the countries that one day integrated the extinct Soviet military bloc.
As was expected even before it began, the negotiating round did not achieve any progress, given the refusal of Europeans and Americans to accept a new division of the European continent into spheres of influence. remains to know now how Russia and in particular its president will react, Vladimir Putin, to said negative. The Russian representatives have said that they would respond in a “technical” and “military” manner, although they have not offered details on what these words mean, although they do, not even rule out military deployments of Russian soldiers or military material in countries geographically close to the US and with good relations with the Kremlin, like Cuba or Venezuela.
Lavrov has also flatly refused to allow his government to start the de-escalation by withdrawing military troops from the regions close to Ukraine., ensuring that their troops do not threaten anyone and that their country is sovereign to carry out the military movements it deems appropriate within its territory.
gas as a weapon
At his side, Baerbock, the leader of the German environmentalists, who was very critical of Russia during the German election campaign, has hinted that if Moscow used the gas supply as a missile, this would have “important consequences”, which include the suppression of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The infrastructure has already been completed, and is pending certification by the competent state authority. It unites Russia with Germany by bypassing Ukrainian territory, a circumstance that leaves Kiev in a position of weakness in the event of a conflict with its powerful neighbor to the east.
The head of German diplomacy took the opportunity to urge the Russian side to resume talks in the so-called Normandy Format, a body made up of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine and responsible for materializing the Minsk Agreements. “That would be a big step towards greater security in Europe and for everyone,” he stressed.
In an exercise of voluntarism that may not even end up materializing, the Secretary General of NATO, the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, has already sent invitations, both to Russia and to the member countries of the Alliance, to continue the negotiations soon. proof that in Washington an invasion is still considered possible, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, will travel to Kiev this Wednesday to inform the authorities of US plans “if Russia decides to escalate tension,” according to a government statement.
www.informacion.es
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.