Diplomacy is at a standstill, according to Moscow. While Russian troops are massed on the Ukrainian border, the Kremlin’s foreign ministry sees no immediate use in a new round of talks with the West. The deep differences over Russian security requirements.
“Without clarifying whether there are (…) reserves of flexibility on the other side on important subjects, there is no reason to sit down to the table (of negotiations) in the coming days , meet once more and start the same discussions once more, ”Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov said in an interview with Russian channel RTVi.
The statement comes once morest the backdrop of a meeting in Vienna of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the third and final sequence of an intense diplomatic ballet aimed at defusing the risk of conflict. in Ukraine.
OSCE wants to “rebuild trust and cooperation”
“It is imperative to find, through diplomatic channels, a way to stop the escalation and start rebuilding trust, transparency and cooperation,” said OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid, referring to “a urgent need ”in the face of“ an unpredictable environment ”. The OSCE, a multilateral platform for East-West discussions resulting from the Cold War, “is a unique place for that”, she insisted. “Each of the 57 member states has a seat around the table”.
The international organization is also responsible for monitoring compliance with the Minsk peace agreements in the rebel eastern part of Ukraine. “However, the surveillance missions have so far detected nothing abnormal on the territory”, but at the border, “it is impossible for us to know what is happening”, according to the American ambassador to the ‘OSCE Michael Carpenter.
These troop movements “are part of the pressure” exerted by Moscow to obtain satisfaction of its demands, but there is “no question of negotiating under pressure”, said Thursday the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.
Russia’s “three key demands”
On Monday, Sergei Riabkov had tense discussions in Geneva with his American counterpart Wendy Sherman. On Wednesday, NATO and Moscow held talks in Brussels, following their conclusion the observation of their deep “differences” on security in Europe.
Russia, which assures that it does not “intend” to attack Ukraine, demands the signing of treaties banning any future enlargement of NATO, the non-deployment of offensive armaments near Russia and the drastic reduction Western cooperation and military maneuvers in Eastern Europe.
“These three demands are key”, for his part the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov told the Russian channel Pervyi Kanal. According to him, the West has promised written answers next week.
Sanctions once morest Putin
On Wednesday, a plan for sanctions once morest Russian President Vladimir Putin in the event of Ukraine’s aggression was presented to the United States, an initiative which “would cross a line” according to the Kremlin.
“It would be equivalent to a rupture of relations”, denounced the spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, noting that the proposal of the American democratic senators “does not facilitate the establishment of a constructive atmosphere for the talks” Russo -Western in progress.
“Russia has never bent under the weight of sanctions”, however hammered Thursday Sergei Riabkov.
