The German head of state travels to Moscow because he fears that time will run away
The German head of state travels to Moscow because he fears that time will run away
Olaf Scholz will use his trip to Moscow on Tuesday to make the economic costs of a Russian invasion of Ukraine clear, said sources from the German government, which some European heads of state and government fear, could be one last opportunity to defuse the "extremely dangerous" situation at the border between the two eastern countries.
The German Chancellor, who was criticized at home that she has shown a reserved profile in Kiev at the weekend in the diplomatic efforts to build up the Military Structure on the Ukrainian border, when the US secret service claimed that Russia accelerated its plans for an invasion and could already the Winter Olympics on February 20, lay troops across the border.
Joe Biden was to speak to the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj on Sunday morning after ordering an almost complete evacuation of the US message in Kiev.
"Over the past 10 days we have seen a dramatic acceleration of the structure of Russian armed forces and the disposition of these armed forces in a way that they could essentially start a military action at any time," says Jake Sullivan, the US Citizens' Security Advisor, said the CBS message broadcast Face the Nation.
"But of course it still waits for the starting command. Therefore we cannot predict the exact date or the exact time to which you do something."
Russia denies his plans to intervene in Ukraine, but there were reports on Sunday and troop transport helicopters on Sunday, which were laid near the Ukrainian border. Moscow has failed to respond to a formal request from Ukraine, to clarify the purpose of its military maneuvers in Belarus within the 48-hour period defined in the Vienna document, create a international agreement that is intended to create transparency and reduce the risk of war. The Belarusian government reacted to a similar request from the Baltic States, but said that some of the Russian units were there on their territory to guard their southern border, and indicated that they would not leave on February 20, when the military exercises would end.
A submarine armed with marching aircraft from the Russian Baltic Sea fleet also sailed through the Bosphorus towards the Black Sea. In the meantime, Lithuania terminated a delivery of stinger flight defense rockets to the Ukraine to This was shared by the US message with A 17th aircraft load with US military equipment had arrived in Kiev, including grenades for fire from the shoulder.
German government circles spoke of a "very worrying overall picture" on the Ukrainian border on Sunday, but rejected the hint that Scholz 'trip was a "last attempt" to avert a war.
From German government circles it said that Scholz would emphasize the "unity of the EU, the USA and Great Britain" when it comes to economic sanctions in response to an invasion. Biden said that a Russian invasion would mean the end of the controversial north stream 2 pipeline, something that Scholz put more cautiously.
Russian diplomats, however, are unimpressed by the threats of western sanctions. The Ambassador of the Kremlin in Sweden told a Swedish newspaper that his country was "no matter of" the economic effects.
"Sorry for my expression, but we take care of a dirt for all your sanctions," said Viktor Tatarintsev of the newspaper Aftonbladet in an interview that was published on Saturday evening.
"We already had so many sanctions and in this sense they have had a positive impact on our economy and agriculture," said the veteran diplomat. "We are more self -sufficient and were able to increase our exports. We have no Italian or Swiss cheese, but we have learned to produce good Russian cheese according to Italian and Swiss recipes," he said.
"New sanctions are nothing positive, but not as bad as the West sounds," he added.
Scholz 'possibilities during his trip to Moscow are limited. The Russian president calls for "security guarantees" from West, which would effectively undermine the sovereignty of independent states in East Central Europe and in the Baltic States.
Sources from the German government said on Sunday that Scholz would offer Putin a dialogue and try to find out more about the complaints of Russia. The sheet of the world said that he could emphasize that NATO accession of Ukraine was not a realistic perspective in the near future, and added that in Scholz circles a compromise was discussed in which Russia is guaranteed that Ukraine will not join NATO a "thought experiment", but not as a specific plan.
Ukraine has expressed interest in joining since 2002, but it would require the unanimous approval of the existing members, based on factors such as a functioning democracy and the lack of "unresolved external territorial disputes".

However, every symbolic concession would be criticized from the Ukrainian side, the ambassador of which accused the German government "hypocrisy" in Berlin on Sunday because it adhered to its restrictive attitude towards export deadly weapons, while continuing to use Russia with twice the purpose.
In 2020, Germany exported such goods worth 366 million euros to Russia.
Germany's Vice Chancellor and Economic Minister said on Sunday that "we could be on the verge of war in Europe". "This is absolutely oppressive and threatening," the Green politician Robert Habeck told the broadcaster NTV. Scholz 'journey is an important sign: "We don't leave Ukraine alone."
The mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko, told the German Boulevardzeitung Bild on Sonntag, an invasion of Ukraine was only the beginning of a Russian aggression campaign that would also threaten states in the Baltic States
"If Olaf Scholz and other heads of state now speak to Vladimir Putin, you should make it clear to him: Our whole country will resist an attack and he will have serious consequences," said the former boxer Klitschko, who spent a large part of his professional career in Germany.
On his trip to Kiev, Scholz will talk to the Ukrainian president about how Germany could contribute to the stabilization of the Ukrainian economy after the fear of an upcoming war has affected the currency of the country.
Such measures would help the Ukrainian side more directly than weapon exports, it said on Sunday from German government circles.
The Ambassador of Ukraine in Great Britain, Vadym Prystaiko, had previously complained that the alarms of the West are risk of playing Putin's hands. "It is not the best time for us to insult our partners in the world and to remind them of this act that actually did not bought peace, but on the contrary," said the BBC.
diplomat
Source: Theguardian
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