Just before the meeting formally began, President Joe Biden warned that “if Russia turns away from diplomacy and attacks Ukraine, (it) will bear the blame and suffer swift and severe consequences.”
© REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Russia and the United States began to tear each other apart on Monday at the UN Security Council over troops massed by Moscow on the border with Ukraine, with Western countries stepping up diplomatic efforts to avert the outbreak. a military conflict.
This meeting of the Security Council scheduled from 4:00 p.m. GMT is being held at the request of the United States and “is a decisive step to bring the world to speak with one voice” on this crisis, warned Mr. Biden in a press release.
Earlier at the UN, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Washington of seeking to “create hysteria” and “deceive the international community” with “unfounded accusations”.
His American counterpart Linda Thomas-Greenfield retorted that the deployment of more than 100,000 Russian soldiers around Ukraine threatened “international security” and justified a public debate at the UN.
And Ms. Thomas-Greenfield immediately accused Moscow of wanting to deploy, “evidence” in support, more than 30,000 additional soldiers in Belarus, whose regime is very close to the Kremlin.
A phone call will take place on Tuesday between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his American counterpart Antony Blinken
Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs reacted immediately: there is “no alternative to diplomacy” in this crisis. “There should be no military intervention,” she added.
For his part, President Biden receives on Monday his ally the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, with whom he will discuss Europe’s gas security and ways to “ensure the stability of the international energy supply,” according to the White House.
A telephone conversation will take place on Tuesday between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his American counterpart Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced.
Faced with the threat of an invasion, Kiev on Sunday called on Russia to withdraw its troops massed along the border between the two countries and to continue dialogue with the West if it “seriously” wants a de-escalation of tensions.
– New sanctions –
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The United States and the United Kingdom brandished the threat of new sanctions once morest Russia on Sunday.
London has indicated that it wants to target Russian interests “which are of direct interest to the Kremlin”. Moscow responded on Monday by accusing the British authorities of preparing an “attack” once morest Russian companies.
“This is an open attack once morest business” Russian, commented the spokesman of the Kremlin Dmitri Peskov, promising a “response” if necessary.
In Washington, two elected Democrats and Republicans said that Congress was close to an agreement on a bill providing for new economic sanctions once morest Russia.
Among the arsenal of sanctions mentioned, the United Kingdom and the United States plan to target the strategic Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, or Russians’ access to transactions in dollars, the queen currency in trade. international.
Faced with this prospect of sanctions, Mr. Lavrov indicated that his country wanted “good, fair, mutually respectful relations with the United States, as with any other country in the world”. Russia “does not want to remain in a position where (its) security is regularly violated”, he continued.
Moscow has been accused since the end of 2021 of having massed up to 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border in preparation for an attack.
Russia denies any plan in this direction, while demanding written guarantees for its security, including the rejection of Ukraine’s membership of NATO and the end of the military reinforcement of the Atlantic Alliance in the East.
This key request was rejected by the United States this week in a written response to Moscow. The Kremlin said it was considering its reaction.
– Deploy troops –
Several Western countries have announced in recent days the dispatch of new contingents to Eastern Europe.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will propose this week to NATO a deployment of troops to respond to the rise of “Russian hostility” towards Ukraine.
An announcement appreciated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba, who both hailed British “leadership”.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki are expected in Kiev this week.
Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand, whose country provides military assistance to Ukraine, arrived there on Sunday for a two-day visit. She announced the movement of Canadian military troops to western Ukraine and the temporary repatriation of all non-essential employees from her embassy in Kyiv.
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© Agence France-Presse
