Ukraine Power of Siberia 2: the other route for Russian gas
After the bilateral meeting in the Kremlin with his Russian counterpart, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, assured that he had achieved the guarantee "that there will be no degradation or escalation" in the crisis that pits Russia against Western countries and that there would be no new maneuvers along the border.
It did not take long for Moscow to pour cold water on French claims of diplomatic progress.
The Kremlin denied that Vladimir Putin had promised the French president not to carry out more military maneuvers with Ukraine.
"I have assured that there will be no deterioration or escalation
," Macron said despite everything before meeting with President
Volodimir Zelensky in Kiev.
.
It had been a French official, speaking to reporters in the morning on condition of anonymity, who had said last night that Putin had promised not to carry out any new maneuvers near Ukraine for now.
Moscow only confirmed that it will withdraw Russian troops from Belarus at the end of the military exercises
.
"No one has ever said that Russian troops will remain on the territory of Belarus, this has never been discussed," Kremlin spokesman
Dimitri Peskov
said .
The worst was the explanation that the Kremlin gave to the impossibility that Putin and Macron had agreed on a de-escalation.
"France is a leading country in the EU, France is a member of NATO, but Paris is not the leader
.
Another country rules in this block.
So, what deals can we talk about?" Peskov said in clear reference to the 'follow-on' that Russia has been denouncing for years in the European position against a superpower like the US.
Even so, Macron said that he thinks that his talks had helped to prevent the crisis escalate further, claiming that he had received personal assurances from Vladimir Putin that Russia would not make matters worse.From the beginning of the crisis,
France has downplayed the possibility of a Russian invasion
, unlike the US or UK governments. In this Macron has connected with the Ukrainian president, who for weeks has been asking for fewer "apocalyptic" messages about the immediate future of his country.
"Calm is essential for all parties, in words and deeds,
" Macron said, praising Zelensky for "the cold blood that he is showing, and that the Ukrainian people are showing, in the face of military pressure on their borders and in their country".
Before leaving for Moscow, Macron said that he believed that Russia has no plans to take Ukraine, but
intends to renegotiate European security agreements.
.
The French leader is aligned with those who see signs that the Russian president wants to avoid an escalation of the Ukraine crisis and seek some kind of agreement with the West.
The objective fact is that Putin has concentrated nearly 100,000 soldiers along the Ukrainian border and has warned the West of a "military-technical response" if his demands are not met.
But in addition to his usual admonitions about NATO, Putin insisted with his French counterpart on Monday night that the dialogue was not over, that some US and NATO proposals were worth discussing, and that Russia would do
"everything everything possible to find compromises that suit everyone"
.
The question is whether the proposals that the US or NATO are willing to offer, basically linked to the field of disarmament and transparency, can be enough for Moscow to stop pressing.
Putin wants a Ukraine outside of NATO that also does not host allied missiles within some kind of bilateral agreement.
In his press conference with his Ukrainian colleague, Macron was forced to explain whether it was true that he had spoken with Putin about
the possibility of 'Finnishing' Ukraine, leaving it indefinitely with a neutral status.
.
The term 'Finnishization' refers to Helsinki's non-aligned status during the cold war, and it raises rashes in Ukraine.
Asked at the Kiev news conference about "Finnishization", Macron said he had "never used this formula" and even refused to repeat the word.
The French leader is determined to play a key mediating role.
Both Putin and the Ukrainian president have told him they are committed to the principles of a 2014 peace agreement Macron proclaimed.
This agreement, known as the Minsk agreements, offers a way to resolve their disputes.
But Zelensky was skeptical of any assurance Macron might have received from Putin.
"I really don't trust words, I think every politician can be transparent by taking concrete steps
," the Ukrainian leader said.
Another underlying problem is that Kiev and Moscow do not agree on exactly what the Minsk agreement implies.
The Kremlin says Kiev must recognize pro-Russian separatists in the eastern territories of Donetsk and Lugansk.
But
the Ukrainian government insists that the separatists must disarm
before finding a political solution and also be disconnected from the "umbilical cord" by which they receive weapons and aid from the border with Russia, a strip that Kiev has not controlled since 2014.
Asked about Ukraine's reluctance to implement this deal, Putin responded Monday night with a somewhat ominous couplet in Russian:
"Like it or not, you'll have to put up with it, beautiful
. "
Hours later, Zelensky picked up the gauntlet and responded.
Switching from Ukrainian to Russian and addressing Putin directly, he said Ukraine was indeed "tolerant" because it did not respond to Kremlin provocations.
"There is wisdom in this tolerance," Zelensky concluded.
Conforms to The Trust Project criteria
Know more
Ukraine
Russia
NATO
U.S
France
Belarus
Vladimir Putin
Paris
United Kingdom
Emmanuel Macron
Crisis Emmanuel Macron will propose a de-escalation plan in Ukraine to Vladimir Putin on Friday
Europe France and Germany sit Ukrainians and Russians at the table, while the US intensifies its warmongering
InterviewMateusz Morawiecki, Polish Prime Minister: "Either we stop Putin's imperial dream or it will be a nightmare for the EU"
See links of interest
Last News
Translator
Work calendar 2022
how to
Athletic Club - Espanyol
Fenerbahce Istanbul - Real Madrid