The diplomatic offensive continues. After Emmanuel Macron, last week, it is German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who is trying to ease tensions between Russia and Ukraine and defuse a crisis that is destabilizing European security.
“We expect immediate signs of de-escalation from Moscow,” Scholz said on Monday. in a tweet, further threatening Russia with “serious consequences in the event of further military aggression”. “No one should doubt the EU’s determination and preparation” to react in the event of an attack on Ukraine, he assured alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reaffirming that “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the country were “non-negotiable”.
The Chancellor, who is due to meet Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, urged Russia to seize “offers of dialogue” intended to lead to de-escalation. “We understand that NATO membership would guarantee our security and territorial sovereignty,” Zelensky said. Membership of NATO considered unacceptable by Moscow.
An exceptional European summit?
The United States, which moved its embassy from Kiev to Lviv on Monday, is still insisting that Russia could invade Ukraine “at any time”. “Military action could occur at any time,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, while his State Department counterpart, Ned Price, stressed that they saw “no concrete signs of de-escalation” at the Russian-Ukrainian border.
Monday evening, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister of Foreign Affairs, estimated that “all the elements” are united for a “strong” military offensive. Many capitals have called on their nationals to leave the country. Boris Johnson on Monday judged the situation “very very dangerous” with a possible Russian invasion “within the next 48 hours”. “We are on the edge of the precipice, but there is still time for President Putin to step back,” said the British Prime Minister. We call on everyone to dialogue (…) to avoid what would be a catastrophic mistake. “There remains a crucial opportunity for diplomacy,” he said, however, following a telephone interview Monday with President Joe Biden.
The tone seems less alarmist in Moscow. Putin’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, considered a diplomatic solution to the crisis possible, even proposing to “prolong and broaden” the dialogue. “There is always a chance,” he said in particular. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the end of certain military maneuvers, while land and sea exercises on the Russian-Ukrainian borders and in Belarus fuel fears of an escalation. But, according to the spokesman of the Pentagon, John Kirby, Russia would have further reinforced its military force on the borders of Ukraine during the weekend.
EU leaders could meet on Thursday, on the sidelines of the summit, with their counterparts from the African Union, depending on the evolution of the crisis between Ukraine and Russia. The decision rests with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. An information point is planned on the results of Tuesday’s meeting between Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and an exceptional European summit is “possible, depending on the situation”, according to a European official.