In the spotlight: Biden-Poutine, a videoconference and little progress
Audio 05:28
US President Joe Biden, alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during the video conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin from the White House on December 7, 2021. © AFP PHOTO / The White House
By: Sébastien Duhamel Follow
5 mins
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“
Greetings Mr. President
!
Is the front page of the
New York Times
this Wednesday, December 8. Joe Biden and Vladimir Poutin held a two-hour virtual summit on Tuesday. A summit that can be found on newsstands around the world, and which brings back memories of the American newspaper. For him, this meeting "
gave the impression of a return to the East-West policy of the Cold War, when NATO's strategy focused on how to prevent an invasion of the former Soviet Union and that Moscow was looking for respect and deference
”. But this time, writes the
New York Times
, "
the stake was the maintenance of the independence of Ukraine
". What if the White House is "
fully aware that his options are limited
,
the inability to dissuade Mr Putin could be seen as a sign of weakness in the world, especially by China
”.
Everyone stands in their positions
It was undoubtedly the video call "
the most tense of the nearly 11 months of Joe Biden in the White House
", estimates
El País
in Spain, but this interview finally "
ended with a warning to the Russian president
".
Joe Biden has indeed reiterated that he would take heavy sanctions against Moscow in the event of an invasion of Ukraine, when Vladimir Putin, for his part, reiterated his red line on Kiev's accession to NATO and on strengthening Western positions at its borders.
In Russia,
Kommersant
also reports that it was impossible to "
agree on anything specific, but judging by the comments of the parties, Moscow and Washington intend to continue the dialogue
."
And the Russian newspaper deplores in passing that the two presidents "
discussed Ukraine without Ukraine
".
On arrival, therefore, little progress for the moment "
in defusing the crisis
", this is also what the
Guardian
observes
in Great Britain: on each side, we "
rather delegated officials to stay in contact
”.
The cards now in the hands of the Russian president
In any case, in this diplomatic game, in this game of chess, "
Putin now knows the price
" is the analysis of the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
. Probably the one that best sums up the situation. For the German newspaper, it is certain: "
No one should have any illusions, America will obviously not send troops to save Ukraine in an emergency
[...] and if the Russian president succeeds in the conclusion that he must invade his neighbor to avenge an imaginary national disgrace or to defend Russia's so-called sphere of influence, then he will
- and no GI will resist head-on
”.
The equation for Moscow is therefore not military, but economic.
Finally, explains the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
, Biden told Putin "
what price Russia should pay to invade Ukraine
".
A price much higher than seven years ago, continues the daily: "
after the robbery of Crimea, Moscow got away with a few frozen bank accounts
" as sanctions.
"
It was ridiculous,
" said the German newspaper and "
Putin's aggressive behavior since then has shown that such anecdotes do not impress him
."
The call for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics
Another American crusade of the moment, which is also of interest to the international press: the call to boycott the Beijing Olympics. This concerns the Winter Games scheduled for February and it is strongly condemned today by the Chinese press. The
Global Times
, a media supported by the regime, affirms in the front page that “
the United States has taken over the Olympic Games
” and made it, in short, a
low-level “
diplomatic game
”. Then contradicting almost all the information we have, the Chinese newspaper speaks of "
lies
As to the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
According to him, this is a pretext used by the Americans to create the buzz before the summit on democracy, scheduled from this Thursday, December 9.
A summit from which China and Russia are excluded.
Coincidence or coincidence, in Russia precisely, the
Nezavissimaya Gazeta
reports that Beijing has invited Moscow to "
jointly defend the Olympic spirit
".
Should we follow the United States?
In any case, we are wondering around the world: should we follow the United States in this boycott? In Japan, for example, the host country of the last Summer Games, the government "is
trying to find a delicate balance between the United States and its main trading partner, China,
" according to
The Japan Times
. For the time being, no official decision has been taken, but the daily
Sankei
understands that Tokyo is already "
in the process of sorting out the people to be sent to the Games and that members of the Prime Minister's office may not participate
". In other words, the Japanese government plans to send "
lower ranking
officials
". In Germany, no decision taken either, but the new coalition government "
leaves the door open to boycott
", this is what
Frankfurter Allgemeine
tells us
. The German Greens are particularly favorable, but the new Chancellor Olaf Scholz, just invested, "
still hesitates
".
No hesitation on the Australian side, however.
The Australian
returns to Canberra's decision to follow this boycott, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Tuesday.
And the newspaper returns to the criticisms which immediately followed, it relays in particular a tweet from the
Global Times
, the Chinese newspaper mentioned above.
We see a caricature: a kangaroo flying away, hanging from a balloon bearing the American flag.
The caption only reads "
The first lackey of the United States
".
If China may lack visitors for these Winter Olympics, it is not lacking in humor in any case.
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