LAST UPDATE: 12.03
German Chancellor Olaf Soltz today called on Moscow to “take immediate steps” to escalate the conflict in Ukraine before visiting Kiev and then the Russian capital at a time when tensions between Russia and the West are at an all-time high.
“We expect immediate de-escalation moves from Moscow,” Olaf Solz wrote on Twitter, adding that “a new military strike would have serious consequences for Russia,” describing the situation as “always very, very serious.”
The Ukrainian authorities, for their part, are demanding an explanation from Russia for the deployment of tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine, which Moscow has so far refused to do.
With his meetings in Kiev and the Kremlin, Olaf Solz is following in the footsteps of French President Emanuel Macron last week to keep alive the hope of a diplomatic solution.
The United States, for its part, insists that Russia could invade “at any time” and that many countries have called on their citizens to leave Ukraine as soon as possible.
Accepting accusations that it is too condescending towards Moscow because of its financial interests, Germany raised its voice yesterday.
“We are in the midst of the danger of a military conflict, a war in Eastern Europe, and the responsibility lies with Russia,” said German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The situation is now “critical, very dangerous”, said a source in the German government.
“Last Chance”
Olaf Solz’s visit to Moscow is “probably the last chance” for peace, Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnik told Bild TV.
“We have the feeling that a war is becoming more and more inevitable,” we must prepare “for the worst.”
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and supports pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, denying any offensive against Ukraine but linking the de-escalation to a series of demands, most notably reassuring that Ukraine will never join NATO. Westerners consider this term unacceptable.
Olaf Solz has warned that the imposition of catastrophic Western sanctions would be “immediate” in the event of a Russian invasion, threats that have so far not deterred the Kremlin.
One of the issues the Americans have put on the table, despite German reluctance, is the fate of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was built to transport Russian gas from Russia to Germany bypassing Ukraine.
At the same time, Berlin is being sharply criticized for refusing to send weapons to the Ukrainians.
“I formally ask our partners to decide which side they are on: the Ukrainian side defending or the attacking side,” Kiev mayor and former boxing champion Vitaly told AFP in an interview last week. Klitschko who has lived for many years in Germany, where he remains a star.
Tensions are at an all-time high, with more than 100,000 Russian troops stationed on Ukraine’s eastern border and military exercises in Belarus and the Black Sea.
Biden invited to Kiev
In a telephone conversation last night, US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to continue the tactics of “diplomacy and deterrence” towards Moscow.
The Ukrainian president invited Joe Biden to visit his country: “I am convinced that your visit to Kiev in the coming days (…) would be an important move and would help stabilize the situation.”
Ukraine has also demanded an urgent meeting with Russia, accusing it of violating the rules of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) by not disclosing information about the mass movement of military forces on the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said Moscow had ignored Kiev’s request in connection with the Vienna Document (OSCE), which promotes confidence-building measures for transparency between the armed forces of the Organization’s 57 member states.
“We are moving to the next stage. Ukraine is convening a meeting with Russia and all OSCE member states within 48 hours to discuss the deployment and movement of Russian forces along our borders and in occupied Crimea,” he said.
Many countries have asked their citizens to leave Ukraine or have begun removing staff from their embassies. The Dutch airline KLM has suspended its flights in Ukrainian airspace.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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