Anthony Blinken in Germany to discuss possible sanctions against Moscow
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on January 19 in Kiev.
REUTERS - POOL
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3 mins
Antony Blinken was this Wednesday, January 19 in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as the head of diplomacy Dmytro Kouleba.
Before a meeting scheduled for Friday in Geneva with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, the American Secretary of State is expected this Thursday in Berlin where he will be received by his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, as well as members of the "Transatlantic Quad".
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Will the US Secretary of State's European tour help ease the tension in the Ukrainian case?
In any case, this is the ambition displayed by the United States during this trip by the Secretary of State.
The more time passes, the more the United States expresses concern that the Kremlin will launch an attack against Ukraine.
"
If they invade
[the Ukraine],
they will pay for it, they will no longer be able to go through the banks, they will not be able to make transactions in dollars
", warned Joe Biden on Wednesday, referring, in addition to these sanctions without precedent against the Russian economy, the risk of "
heavy
" human losses on the battlefield.
► Read also:
In Ukraine, Antony Blinken evokes an imminent "risk of invasion"
What penalties?
A message of concern that Antony Blinken reiterated this Wednesday in Kiev, even if the latter did not lose hope that a diplomatic and peaceful solution would make it possible to avoid such a scenario.
In Berlin where he will be received by his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, who
was herself in Kiev and Moscow on Monday and Tuesday
, Antony Blinken intends to address the question of possible sanctions against Moscow, in particular the exclusion of Russia from "swift" , an essential system of international banking exchanges. But for Nicolas Tenzer, political scientist, teacher at Sciences Po Paris and information director of the letter desk Russia, other types of sanctions could be announced: “
On this question, the positions are quite divergent between the United States and Europe, and Europe itself is deeply divided. The exclusion of the swift system, the Germans are not in favor of it. France has not made its position clear on this subject. There may be another type of sanctions, which target Vladimir Putin's direct entourage - the anti-corruption foundation created by Navalny, had moreover proposed 35 names of people very close to Putin - whose assets could be frozen in the various countries concerned, and the family members of these relatives could be banned from traveling, which represents a real sanction when we know that some of them have residences all over Europe or the United States,or that the children are studying in foreign establishments.
»
For her part, the German Foreign Minister confirmed that her country would do everything to guarantee the security of Ukraine and the security of Europe.
Although she says she is ready for serious discussions with Russia, she warned Moscow of the serious consequences that the country would suffer in the event of an attack.
The question of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will therefore most certainly be discussed with Antony Blinken and the members of the Transatlantic Quad (United States, Great Britain, France and Germany) this Thursday.
Berlin has already hinted that the German government could block the gas pipeline in the event of an invasion of Ukraine.
The question of financial and military aid for Ukraine will also be on the menu, knowing that Washington has just released an additional 200 million dollars and that London has for its part confirmed the shipment of armaments. But this question has still not been settled within the European Union, recalls Nicolas Tenzer: “
The Germans excluded it, including because of the old ideological positions of the Greens.
The French have not yet officially positioned themselves, but there is reluctance to provide additional lethal weapons to Ukraine.
Afterwards, will the West provide Ukraine in the event of an attack with means of aerial intelligence surveillance, that is to say, participate, without even sending troops on the ground, in the defense of Ukraine?
This is one of the major questions.
»
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