Biden tries to change the balance of power on Ukraine

© KEYSTONE/EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS / POOL

By announcing the possible deployment of thousands of American soldiers to reinforce NATO troops, American President Joe Biden markedly increased the pressure on Monday on Moscow, which threatens Ukraine. He also displayed his cohesion with the Europeans.

The United States has placed up to 8,500 soldiers on alert. This means that they might be ready in five days to reinforce the rapid reaction force of the military alliance, made up of 40,000 soldiers, the Pentagon announced on Monday.

“No decision has been made on the deployment of forces outside the United States for the moment,” however, said his spokesperson. NATO, for its part, has announced that it is placing forces on standby and sending ships and combat aircraft to strengthen its defenses in Eastern Europe.

The American president is trying to tilt in his favor the balance of power established by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, by massing troops and equipment on the border with Ukraine.

“Unanimity”

Joe Biden had a videoconference of just under an hour and a half on Monday with several European leaders, whom this mounting pressure from the Americans seemed to take aback. He praised the “total unanimity” between Americans and Europeans shortly following the end of this meeting.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Polish President Andrzej Duda, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participated in the meeting.

According to a statement from the White House, the leaders “underlined their common desire for a diplomatic resolution”, but also spoke of their “preparations to impose massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia” in the event of a invasion, and to “enhance security on NATO’s eastern front”.

The participants “were all of the opinion that it is up to Russia to undertake visible initiatives of de-escalation”, commented for his part the German Chancellor, assuring that Moscow would suffer “very heavy consequences” in the event of invasion.

“Volatility”

The Europeans had previously seemed wary of the increasingly tough rhetoric and decisions of the United States, which for example decided to remove the families of diplomats stationed in Kiev, an initiative followed by London and Canberra.

France, which currently assumes command of NATO’s rapid reaction force, called for “not to create ambiguity, additional volatility”. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, called on him not to “dramatize”.

The Ukrainian authorities have also judged Washington’s decision concerning their diplomatic representation “premature” and “excessive”. Moscow denounced “hysteria” and accused the United States and NATO “of exacerbating tensions through announcements and concrete actions”.

New Blinken-Lavrov meeting

Along with this rise in pressure, Westerners continue despite everything to explore the diplomatic path. According to a European source, a new meeting would thus be planned between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, we learned from a European diplomatic source.

French President Emmanuel Macron, for his part, wants to offer “a path of de-escalation” to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during an interview “in the coming days”.

Russia demands a written commitment on the non-enlargement of NATO to Ukraine and Georgia and demands a withdrawal of the forces and armaments of the Atlantic alliance from the countries of Eastern Europe which have joined the NATO following 1997, notably from Romania and Bulgaria. “Non-negotiable” demands for Westerners.