Russia says it is ready for talks after sending troops to Ukraine – 02/22/2022 – World

One day after shaking the world Recognition of self-proclaimed ethnic Russian republics Vladimir Putin’s government has said it is ready to send troops to eastern Ukraine and the region to negotiate with the United States.

“Even in these difficult times, we say: we are ready for talks,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on YouTube. His employer, President Sergei Lavrov, will travel to Geneva on Thursday to discuss the crisis with US Secretary of State Anthony Blingen.

On Monday, Putin moved a key part of the controversy over European defense design Donetsk and Lukansk recognized the so-called People’s Republics, About 4 million people live, mostly ethnic Russians, 800,000 of whom hold passports from their major neighbors. He said the risks had increased in recent days, from clashes to military action in Kiev.

With that, aggressive talk In it he basically denied that Ukraine was a state. He subdued the West. Since November, Putin Has concentrated forces in military exercises around Ukraine -150,000 of them, at least, according to the US. He denied that he was going to occupy the country, but after recognizing the rebel territories, he ordered Russian troops to occupy the “peace force” mission.

This is what happened in the Russian separatist region of Transnistria (Moldova), a monument to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and to the two autonomous Russian ethnic regions. After the war between Moscow and Georgia in 2008Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

In practice, this is what will happen to the Donbass (eastern Ukraine), which has been autonomous since 2014 following the Kremlin’s civil war after the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula – which has historically been Russian territory and homeland. The Black Sea to its valuable Russian navy.

“Russia can no longer intimidate Kiev into military action in the Donbass, but that in practice is the only benefit of recognition. The negative consequences will be many and varied,” said Andrei Kordunov, director of the prestigious Russian Council for International Affairs. Next is from the Kremlin.

In addition to harmless barriers against rebel areas Announced by the Joe Biden Government of the United States, This morning the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, of which Russia is a member, asked Moscow to rescind the accreditation orders. That will not happen.

The European Union, for its part, announced on Tuesday (22) that it would review sanctions against Russia. Russia’s ally Beijing has issued a sensible statement urging it to restrain all those involved in the unrest.

As of Tuesday (22) morning, there were no signs of troops arriving in Donetsk or Lukansk, although this could happen at any time. Army trucks and tanks were found in both capitals, but they were already there, and it is uncertain whether they belonged to the rebels or the Russians.

According to taxi driver Ivan Alekseevich, who works in border towns and does not like to use his family name, in recent days he has seen several military trucks moving from Rostov-on-Don to the border in Avilo. -Uspenka, about 95 km northwest of the provincial capital Rostov.

“No one knows what it is,” he said. On the other hand, he saw several freight trains during the same period bringing back armored vehicles and tanks from drills in border areas. Rostov-on-Don is the headquarters of the Southern Military District of Russia. “One day I was standing at the train signal and the tanks started to pass,” he said.

As for Kiev, Washington and Brussels, the arrival of such peacekeepers already signifies the Russian invasion, but it is mere rhetoric. The real act is that Everyone is scared Targeting the Ukrainian capital would be another nature.

There is an indication to note: how far the Russians will settle with military bases in the Donbass. In the eight-year dispute, Ukraine has a relatively 430 km border that separates the Ukrainian republics.

Putin wisely did not say how far he would go, but said there was no action beyond the so-called contact line. Sets up a practical invasion of Ukraine. The separatists want to reclaim the former borders of Donetsk and Lukansk provinces, in which they occupy less than half of the pre-civil war area.

Senator Andrei Klimov, acting chairman of the Federal Council’s Foreign Committee (upper house of parliament), gave the signal. Russia told Channel 24 this morning (night in Brazil) that the Russian program will include only the current borders.

“Of course, we are talking about territories that are within the boundaries that have been established so far.

However, only reality will tell what will happen and how Ukraine will react. If he informally transforms Donbass into Russian territory, without annexation, Putin will be able to prolong the inaction of the Ukrainian state indefinitely. Like you did in GeorgiaThus blocking its alliance with NATO and the European Union.

If that happens, he will be punished by sanctions that could alienate his rule with the Russian elite, but that is a matter for later. The United States and NATO have refused to intervene militarily for fear of unpredictable war. Your most immediate strategic goal will be achieved.