Ukrainian crisis: Vladimir Putin chooses one-upmanship
Russian President Vladimir Putin (here Tuesday January 15 in Moscow) held an improvised press conference on Tuesday February 22.
AP - Sergey Guneev
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
The day after the recognition of the independence of the separatist territories of Donetsk and Lugansk, the Russian president brandished the threat of a large-scale war.
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A new step in climbing.
After asking his army to "
keep the peace
" in the secessionist territories of Donetsk and Lugansk
, whose independence he recognized
, Vladimir Putin obtained this Tuesday evening from the Upper House of Parliament the authorization for a military deployment. in support of the separatists.
NATO now says it expects a "
massive attack
".
But the master of the Kremlin has cast doubt on the timetable for sending armed forces, and calls for a "
demilitarization
" of Ukraine, which would "
better
" to give up its ambition to join NATO to choose the "
neutrality
".
"
I did not say that our soldiers are going to go there, now (...) It will depend, as they say, on the situation on the ground
," he said.
Immediately afterwards, Russian diplomacy announced the forthcoming evacuation of its diplomats from Ukraine.
Putin spells out his goals
While maintaining the suspense, the master of the Kremlin affirmed that the Minsk agreements, serving as the basis for a settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, “
no longer existed
”.
These agreements, signed in 2015 by Russia and Ukraine under Franco-German mediation, aim to return under Ukrainian sovereignty the areas held by the separatists in the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, in exchange for autonomy.
The recognition of their independence renders the agreements obsolete from the Russian point of view.
But for Moscow, the separatist “
republics
” of Donetsk and Lugansk are no longer limited to the territories held today by the pro-Russians;
they extend to all of the eponymous regions, "
as they were when they were part of Ukraine
", declared Vladimir Putin.
These remarks thus open the door to an attempt to take control of the parts of these regions controlled by the Ukrainian authorities, in particular the city of Mariupol, which has more than 400,000 inhabitants.
The head of the Kremlin, however, added that the exact route will have to be the subject of "
negotiations
between Kiev and the separatists.
In the wake of these statements, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with the two separatist regions, not recognized by the international community.
"The Beginning of an Invasion"
"
President Putin no longer honors Russia's signature
," reacted French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, citing the 1990 Charter of Paris or the Helsinki Final Act, as many texts on "
the inviolability of borders, the sovereignty of States, stability in Europe
” signed by Russia.
"
Russia's signature is also the Minsk Agreements, of Putin himself, renewed in the Paris meeting of December 2019
", he recalled.
“
President Putin no longer honors his own commitments either, since he had publicly declared that the hypothesis of a vote by the Duma leading to the recognition of the two Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk was not
“, he continued.
By announcing that the Ukrainian regions whose independence Russia has recognized exceed the areas currently controlled by the separatists, Russian President Vladimir Putin "
is in the process of developing justifications to go much further
", for his part estimated the US President Joe Biden in an address to the nation from the White House.
“
This is the start of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
»
In response, Joe Biden announced that he had authorized the redeployment of American forces already positioned in Europe to strengthen the Baltic countries, while repeating that he was not giving up hope of finding a diplomatic solution.
"
There is no doubt that Russia is the aggressor, so we are aware of the challenges we face
," he said.
"
Nevertheless, there is still time to avoid the worst-case scenario that will inflict enormous suffering on millions of people
."
(
With
AFP)
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Russia
Ukraine
Vladimir Poutine