Russia: Attempts to encircle Ukraine from Belarus - Escalates diplomatic tug-of-war

"Cold War" winds sweep Eastern Europe with Russia to "roar" against United States and ΝΑΤΟ and make moves encirclement of Ukraine and from the north, through the deployment of military forces and equipment on its territory Belarus, in the context of forthcoming joint "exercises".

At the same time, on the diplomatic front, the focus is on the "mission" of the head of German diplomacy, Analena Berbock, tomorrow, Tuesday, in Moscow, with governments in both the EU and Britain and the US looking for "signs" in the visit as to whether and to what extent the new leadership Olaf Solts Merkel's line on independent Russian-German dialogue and compromises with Moscow - with whatever implications this will have on the common line they seek to project against the Kremlin.

Burbok's visit and her "official first" with Sergei Lavrov follow Russia's deadlocked negotiations with the Biden administration and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on the legally binding security guarantees required by Vladimir Putin to oust President Putin. NATO expansion to the East or, in essence, the attempt to "rebuild" the Soviet Union to some extent.

With Ukraine already surrounded by more than 100.000 Russian troops - and the United States saying it was already "paving the way" for possible provocations in the east as a pretext for invasion - Russian military forces and equipment began arriving in Belarus.

The regime of Belarussian President Vladimir Putin's ally Alexander Lukashenko has announced that joint military exercises with Russia will be announced in February without giving an exact date. Russian news agencies reported today, Monday, that the mission of Russian forces for the "high schools" has already begun.

If Vladimir Putin makes the final decision to move militarily against eastern Ukraine - something that is not yet clear if and in what scale he will act - the invasion is expected to begin within the next month. And then Russia will have developed forces on Belarusian soil as well.

The US expects provocations, Lavrov denies

Regarding the recent statements of government officials Biden that the Moscow may prepare provocations in the territory of the east Ukrainian, The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, claimed today that this is "misinformation".

The United States There is evidence that a task force trained in urban warfare and the use of explosives has already been deployed in eastern Ukraine to carry out sabotage operations against Russian-backed separatist forces under the pretext of invading. Similar reports have come from Ukraine.

Referring to statements by the White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, compared the current situation in Ukraine with that before the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, the Lavrov He said that "the tragedy in today's Ukraine did indeed begin in 2014, but it was not the result of a provocation by Russia, but the result of a coup that was supported and even organized by the United States."

During a press conference, he referred with a dose of irony to statements by the US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, that the US has worked out 18 scenarios in case of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"I can only additionally assume that the United States probably has 17 secret services and intelligence services. Maybe the 17 services along with the State Department make us 18 scenarios. So they can announce a competition between them " commented. He stressed that Moscow itself is considering "various scenarios" concerning its further actions in the field of securing security guarantees, which, however, as he said in the same ironic tone, are less than those of the United States.

At the same time, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, insisted on threats to the United States over the development of Russian military infrastructure in Cuba and Venezuela, saying in an interview that "neither confirms nor rules out anything."

"Everything depends on US actions," Russia said in a statement, warning of a crisis "with unforeseen consequences for European security."

The same Ryabkov has compared the current tensions around Ukraine with the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Similar warnings have been issued by Vladimir Putin himself in the event of further NATO expansion to the East.

For his part, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry PeshkovAsked about the possibility of Russian missiles being deployed in Latin America in connection with Ryabkov's statements, he said today that "we must not forget that Cuba and Venezuela are sovereign states".

Responding to Russian threats, o US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, has said that the reaction will be "decisive", but it is clear from his statements that Washington does not take these warnings seriously.

The look at the Burbok-Lavrov meeting in Moscow

With Ukraine's future on the brink of collapse, the new German Foreign Minister, Analena Berbok, attempted to reassure the leadership of the former Soviet republic during her visit to Kiev today that Berlin would not compromise on the basic principles of national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country during the "official first" meeting he will have on Tuesday in Moscow with Sergei Lavrov.

The German Foreign Minister stressed that she was ready for a serious dialogue with Russia on mutual security, but was not prepared to give in to "basic principles such as border violation, the free choice of alliances." Moscow's demand that Ukraine not join NATO] and the denial of the threat of violence. "

Analena Berbok warned that if Russia invaded Ukraine it would be called upon to pay a "high price", insisting that diplomacy "is the only way".

"Any further aggression will have a high price for Russia economically, strategically and politically," Burbok told a news conference with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba.

The different lines within the West

The European Union, as well as Britain and the United States, have turned their attention to tomorrow's visit to Moscow to "decipher" whether Germany is reverting to its traditional tactics of seeking an independent dialogue with Russia.

Berbock herself belongs to the younger generation of German politicians who are strongly committed to defending human rights in the field of foreign policy and are determined to move Germany away from the firm line of compromise with Moscow. On the other hand, the German Chancellor, led by the SPD, is considered less willing to move away from the policies of former Chancellor Angela Merkel.

And it will be deeply disappointing, as the British Guardian characteristically points out, for the West if Germany continues to operate as a "paratrooper" at a time when Europe and the United States are working hard to establish a united front within NATO.

The European Union was virtually absent from official representation at last week's's final stalemate on Ukraine's future talks, which first took place bilaterally between the US and Russia in Geneva and then within the NATO Council. Russia in Brussels.

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, has stressed that the Kremlin is deliberately trying to sideline the EU, but noted that it has US guarantees that "nothing will be decided without cooperation, coordination and participation from the EU." A similar message that "any decision 'passes' through the EU" has been sent in all directions by the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the French President Emanuel Macron (France has been at the helm of the rolling presidency of the Council since January 1). EU).

Ukraine insists on the "Shape of Normandy"

Ukraine, for its part, has consistently called for direct negotiations with Russia under the Normandy Scheme (France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine) to "end the conflict" with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country - a prospect in which Moscow has resisted, opting to negotiate with the United States, although it has publicly stated that it would be "willing" to abide by the pre-agreement on eastern Ukraine.

The same was repeated by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Nmitro Kuleba, during the press conference with Analena Berbok in Kiev, emphasizing that it is important that Germany and France do not take decisions on Ukraine in its absence.

In addition to talks on the deployment of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, Kiev's calls to Germany for arms deliveries and the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline were also at the center of the talks.

Source: CNN Greece