China News Agency, Moscow, February 16th: What is the game behind the Ukraine crisis?
China News Agency reporter Tian Bing
On February 16, the United States and the West said with certainty that Russia would "invade" Ukraine and did not "come as scheduled".
In an interview with German media, Russia's permanent representative to the European Union Chirov said something meaningful: "Wars in Europe rarely start on Wednesday."
"Revolving Lantern" mediation
On the 15th local time, German Chancellor Scholz visited Moscow for a meeting with Putin to discuss bilateral relations and international and regional hotspot issues, including providing security to Russia and the situation in Ukraine.
The day before, Scholz visited Kiev for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Before Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Russia on the 7th and exchanged views with Putin on the European situation and the Ukraine issue.
The next day, he went to Kiev to meet Zelensky.
On February 1, Putin met with visiting Hungarian Prime Minister Orban.
In addition to visiting the door in person, the leaders of the United States and Europe communicated with Putin more by telephone and other means.
On February 12, Putin spoke by phone with Biden and Macron respectively; on February 2, Putin spoke by phone with British Prime Minister Johnson; on February 1, Putin spoke by phone with Italian Prime Minister Draghi; on January 28 and 31 , Putin spoke twice with Macron on the phone...
In addition to the level of heads of state, ministerial meetings and phone calls are more frequent: in February alone, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Polish Foreign Minister Raou, British Foreign Minister Truss, German Foreign Minister Belberk, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, Italian Foreign Minister Di Maio, etc., either hold meetings or make phone calls.
In addition to intensive communication with Russia and Ukraine, dignitaries from European and American countries also frequently visit or exchange visits to coordinate positions and mediate the situation.
Analysts pointed out that the U.S. manipulation of the Ukraine issue has multiple goals: the Biden administration’s poor performance in domestic affairs wants to use the Ukraine issue to divert domestic attention to build momentum for the mid-term elections in November this year; to provoke Russia-Europe relations through the “Russian threat theory” and win over And tie up European allies, strengthen their military dependence on the United States, and let Europe continue to follow the United States' lead.
For Europe, most European countries are reluctant to see tensions in Ukraine escalate.
Once the situation gets out of control, the consequences of war and conflict will make Europe bear "unbearable weight" in terms of geography.
Domestically, European countries also have their own plans.
Gromyko, director of the European Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, analyzed that for Macron, who is preparing to run for re-election, and Scholz, who has recently taken office, the recent series of diplomatic activities are more out of domestic political considerations, which proves their active participation. It is an important international political process and at the same time demonstrates the EU's will for strategic autonomy.
"Dilemma" Ukraine
On the 15th, the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine voted to pass a resolution against the independence of the "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic" controlled by the eastern Ukrainian civilian armed forces, calling on international organizations to reaffirm the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Violations, called on the international community not to recognize the decision on the independence of the above-mentioned regions, and called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video speech to the public on the evening of the 14th that Ukraine is currently facing severe challenges at home and abroad, and hopes that the people can take responsibility.
He stressed that Ukraine needs peace and hopes to resolve all issues through negotiations.
He urged government officials and parliamentarians who have fled or plan to flee Ukraine to do their jobs.
In the past few days, the US and the West have hyped up the threat of war and created tension, which has had a serious impact on Ukraine's domestic economic and social stability and people's lives.
The United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and other countries have successively announced the withdrawal of their diplomats in Ukraine and urged their citizens to leave Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken said in a statement on the 14th that the United States has initiated the process of temporarily closing the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, and embassy operations will be transferred from Kiev to the western city of Lviv.
With the "evacuation" of diplomats from the United States and the West, an atmosphere of panic and anxiety began to spread in Ukrainian society, leading to capital flight, and a large number of rich people and even civil servants "fleeing" with their families.
Without naming names, Zelensky criticized the withdrawal or westward movement of diplomats from some countries as a "huge mistake", and admitted that "the biggest enemy of our people now is panic. All this information will only cause panic and will not help us."
More importantly, despite the continuous diplomatic succession of "cartridge" and despite the US and Europe claiming to maintain an "open" policy, NATO has responded indifferently to Ukraine's request to "take advantage" to become a member of NATO and the EU.
There are also differences in the position of the United States and Europe on the demand for greater military and financial support for Ukraine.
"Advance and Retreat" Russia
Putin said at a joint press conference held after his meeting with Scholz on the 15th that Russia does not want a war and will try to solve the problem through diplomacy with the West, including stopping NATO expansion, not deploying strike weapons near the Russian border, and NATO in The European military infrastructure has been restored to the state in 1997 when Russia and NATO signed the basic relations document.
He also said that Russia is ready to discuss some of the initiatives contained in the written responses of the United States and NATO to Russia's security recommendations, "but these must be discussed together with fundamental issues that are vital to Russia."
In fact, whether it is the president or the foreign minister, the Russian side has repeatedly reiterated the above-mentioned main position on security in public, emphasizing that the basic principle of indivisibility of security should be observed.
Analysts pointed out that on December 17 last year, Russia announced its security recommendations with the United States and NATO.
Although no substantive results have been achieved so far, Russia has conducted dialogues and communications at all levels with the United States and NATO on related issues, indicating that the United States and the West have not completely rejected Russia's proposals.
Since the first confrontation on the Russian-Ukrainian border last year, Russia has not "danced with the west wind", but has seized the initiative to set issues, cooperated with strategic goals and tactical means, and cooperated with political, diplomatic, military, public opinion and other means and methods. The U.S. and the West are bargaining, advancing and retreating, highlighting the high degree of pragmatism and flexibility of Russia’s foreign policy.
Lavrov said on the 15th that negotiating security guarantees with the United States and NATO is still a priority for Moscow, and Russia will soon announce its response to the written responses of the United States and NATO.
A new round of confrontation between Russia and the United States and Europe is about to start, but the main obstacle to the Ukraine crisis has not been removed, and the game of great powers will continue.
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