Photographer, Archyde.com
“Block Putin’s wallet in Germany.” This is how German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was greeted in Kiev
The G7 countries in a joint statement threatened Russia with serious sanctions if it attacks Ukraine; Ukraine and the Baltic States demand to convene a meeting within the OSCE; The German chancellor flew to Kiev. The latest events and statements around Ukraine are in the review of the BBC Russian Service.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has joined in the search for a negotiated solution to the crisis: on Monday he met in Kiev with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, and on Tuesday he is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
The Ukrainian authorities used the procedure provided for OSCE Vienna Document “on measures to build confidence and security,” and first sent a request to Russia regarding the movement of its troops in the border areas, and on Sunday, without waiting for a response, they demanded to organize a meeting with Russia and all countries that signed the Vienna Document within 48 hours.
“Ukraine is convening a meeting with Russia and all Member States in the next 48 hours to discuss the reinforcement and movement of Russian troops along our border,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Facebook.
On Monday, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not comment on Kiev’s request, but only reiterated that Russia has the right to freely move troops around its territory.
“Large-scale movements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are also carried out in the border zone on the territory of Ukraine, moreover, in the area that borders on the territory of the self-proclaimed republics, which leads to an escalation of the situation,” Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The Baltic countries on Sunday asked Poland, which currently chairs the OSCE, to convene a meeting with Belarus and other interested countries to discuss troop movements and exercises around Ukraine.
This meeting was supposed to take place on Monday, but the head of the Russian delegation at the talks in Vienna on military security and arms control, Konstantin Gavrilov, said that Russia would not participate in it.
Sanctions from the G7
Photographer, European PressPhoto Agency
Ukrainian soldier in eastern Ukraine monitors the situation on the border
The G7 countries have warned Russia that they are ready to impose sanctions that will have serious negative consequences for its economy. This is the G7’s first joint statement on this topic – so far, the leaders of different G7 countries have spoken regarding sanctions separately. In addition to the Western powers, the “seven” includes Japan.
G7 finance ministers have said they view the Russian military buildup near Ukraine’s borders as a cause for serious concern.
Russia denies planning an invasion, despite the fact that more than 100,000 troops are already stationed near the border.
“Our immediate priority is to support efforts to de-escalate the situation,” the G7 finance ministers said in a statement.
However, if Moscow intensifies hostilities, the world powers are “ready to collectively impose economic and financial sanctions” on Russia and provide further economic and financial support to Ukraine in a “coordinated” manner.
“Any concessions by Ukraine do not concern the refusal of membership in NATO.” Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK Vadym Prystaiko explained his words
Photographer, Archyde.com
Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK Vadym Prystaiko near the diplomatic mission in London
Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK Vadym Prystaiko clarified his words in an interview with British media that Ukraine “might” consider abandoning NATO membership in order to avoid a war with Russia.
So he answered the question of BBC Radio 5 Live regarding whether Kiev is considering the issue of refusing to join the alliance.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that these words were taken out of context, but added that for the sake of peace and the preservation of the lives of its citizens, Ukraine is ready to enter into any format of dialogues with countries and international organizations.
“We are now explaining in various interviews here that the course towards NATO is even in the constitution and there are no changes now, but we cannot count on NATO now – because we are not members of this family. To avoid war right now, we are ready for compromises “, but they lie not in the sphere of NATO, but in the Minsk agreements. As for NATO now, we are maintaining the course of entry, but at the moment we are forced to look for other options for how to survive,” Vadym Prystaiko explained his words.
The Kremlin also commented on Prystaiko’s statements, saying that he did not consider his words as a signal of an official change in Ukraine’s position on the desire to join NATO. Moscow is demanding from NATO that the alliance formally abandon plans to someday accept Ukraine into its ranks.
