[Special correspondent of Global Times in the United States, Germany and Canada Xiao Da Qing Mu Tao short room Chen Kang Liu Yupeng] The United States and NATO formally submitted a written reply on bilateral security guarantees to Russia on the 26th. Although the United States and NATO refused to disclose the specific details of the reply, US Secretary of State Blinken made it clear at the press conference that she had rejected Russia’s most concerned request of "not accepting Ukraine to join NATO".
In response, the Russian side responded strongly on the 27th, saying that the responses of the United States and NATO indicated that the United States was prepared to confront Russia directly and engage in global confrontation. In the past two days, the United States and its allies have been sending weapons to Ukraine, while constantly rendering that Russia will still "invade Ukraine." US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman insisted that "Russia is ready to use force against Ukraine in mid-February". British Prime Minister Johnson threatened that if Russia "invaded" Ukraine, Britain would send troops to protect its European allies. Many international analysts worry that this kind of hype will not only help solve the Ukrainian problem, but may even push the crisis into the abyss of war. On the 27th, Wang Yi, State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, said on the phone with Blinken at the request that we call on all parties to remain calm and not to do anything to stimulate tension and exaggerate the crisis. Wang Yi emphasized that one country’s security cannot be at the expense of other countries’ security, and regional security cannot be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs.
NATO rejects the "red line" drawn by Russia.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grushko met with U.S. Ambassador to Russia Sullivan on the 26th, RIA Novosti quoted a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry on the 27th. During the talks, Sullivan handed over the written reply of the US government to the draft bilateral security guarantee submitted by Russia. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry did not explain the specific content of the US written reply in the statement. The Russian side said that the United States asked Russia to keep the specific content confidential.
"The United States has rejected Russia’s ‘ Ukraine is prohibited from joining NATO ’ The core requirements. " The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said that Blinken said at a press conference on 26th that the Biden administration’s position "has not changed", the United States will not give in to Russia’s core demands, and NATO will maintain its open policy for all countries to join the alliance. "The door of NATO will always be open, which is our commitment." Blinken also said that the United States still believes that Moscow is ready for invasion. "There is no doubt that we are taking actions with the same emphasis and strength to strengthen Ukrainian defense and prepare for a rapid and unified response to Russian aggression." However, he also said that he would meet again with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in Geneva on Friday to solve the security concerns of both sides, including improving military transparency.
"NATO directly rejected Russia’s ‘ Red line ’ " The "Russia Today" website said that 30 NATO member countries jointly recognized the written reply to Russia, and on the 26th, it was also submitted to Russia by the US Ambassador to Russia Sullivan. NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg also said at the press conference on 26th that NATO "will not compromise" on the issue that "Ukraine, Georgia and other former Soviet republics may join NATO". He also said that NATO is still strengthening its presence, including in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea.
Russia will provide weapons to Udong?
"The reply of the United States is to go into direct conflict with Russia." Russian newspaper Viewpoint quoted Dzhabarov, a member of the Russian Federal Council, as saying on 27th that Russia would not accept the response of the United States to Russia’s security guarantee proposal, which was unsatisfactory. He said: "The response of the United States shows that the United States wants to go to direct conflict with Russia and prepare for global confrontation." Regarding Stoltenberg’s statement that he would continue to strengthen NATO’s presence in the Baltic and Black Seas, Dzhabarov said: "Stoltenberg is completely insane. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I don’t think it is necessary to value him. " Russian Congressman Nikonov proposed: "For the United States and NATO to reject Russia’s core security proposal, we will soon formulate a response measure … … It seems that we will start from the armed Donetsk and Lugansk republics (two republics in eastern Ukraine that declared their independence by themselves — — Editor’s note) Start. "
Peskov, Russian Presidential Press Secretary, said on the 27th that Putin had received a reply from the United States to the security proposal, and he would hold consultations with members of the National Security Council. "Let’s not jump to any conclusions." Peskov said that Washington’s reply gave no reason for optimism. Regarding whether Putin will agree to provide weapons to Donbass (the Republic of Donetsk and Lugansk) to counter the United States and NATO, peskov said: "The President is well aware of this view, and he has not made a decision on these proposals. But the suggestions of parliamentarians highlight how angry Russia is. "
Russia’s Independent newspaper said that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said in a speech in the State Duma on the 26th that Russia would reserve the right to take tough measures against the response of the United States and NATO. He said: "If the United States does not respond constructively and the West continues its aggressive line, then Moscow, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said, will take necessary retaliatory measures." He also said that while some western countries evacuated their personnel from Ukraine, they sent weapons to Ukraine, which was causing "hysterical military fanaticism".
Germany and France are different from the United States and Britain.
The crisis between Russia and the United States and the West was triggered by the US side’s exaggeration that Russia would "invade Ukraine". Now American officials are still speculating on this topic, but the predicted time point has changed many times. US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman claimed at the video conference of the European Strategic Forum on 26th that the United States insisted that Russia was still preparing to "invade Ukraine". She said: "All the signs we have seen indicate that Russia will use force at some point, possibly between now and mid-February." Sherman also provoked that the Beijing Winter Olympics will be held soon. "If Putin chooses to use force at that time, China leaders will be unhappy. This may affect the timing of Putin’s choice (use of force). " Previously, Bloomberg News of the United States had deliberately spread the false news that "China asked Russia not to invade Ukraine during the Beijing Winter Olympics", which was denounced as a "despicable trick" by a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, saying that it was "not only a slander and provocation to Sino-Russian relations, but also a deliberate interference and sabotage to the Beijing Winter Olympics".
Recently, Britain has also been constantly arching the fire over the Ukrainian crisis. The BBC said that British Prime Minister Johnson said in a speech in Parliament a few days ago that if there is a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, "we will seek to contribute to any new deployment of NATO to protect our allies." However, when asked whether Britain would send troops to Ukraine, Johnson went soft again. He said that no NATO member is ready to send a huge combat force to Ukraine because Ukraine is not a NATO member.
Different from the way the United States and Britain play up the crisis and stimulate tensions, European powers such as Germany and France prefer to solve the crisis through diplomacy. "Deutsche Welle" said on the 27th that Biden had publicly warned that if Russia "invaded Ukraine", it would consider directly sanctioning Putin. Earlier, Russia had responded to the provocation of the United States about sanctions against Putin, saying that sanctions against Putin were "equivalent to severing relations between the two countries." According to the report, while Biden publicly threatened to sanction Putin, German Chancellor Angela Scholz and French President Jacques Macron both said that they would use diplomatic means to solve the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.
Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France held the "Normandy model" four-party talks in Paris on the 26th. After eight hours of deliberation, Russia and Ukraine agreed to continue to abide by the ceasefire agreement in eastern Ukraine, and a new round of talks was held in Berlin two weeks later. This progress was praised by Germany and France. The French presidential palace said that the difficult talks finally achieved positive results, "we received a good signal." Macron also said that he will hold a telephone conversation with Putin on the 28th. "We will never give up the dialogue with Moscow."
Reuters said on 27th that Germany was accused of "betrayal" because it refused to provide weapons to Ukraine like other western countries, and the German government said on 26th that it would provide Ukraine with 5,000 military helmets. This plan was denounced as a "joke" by Kiev Mayor Kritchenko. However, German Defense Minister Lambrecht insisted on 26th that Germany would not send deadly weapons to crisis areas "because we don’t want to aggravate the situation".
"Every effort must be made to avoid war"
"Will the war begin after the United States and NATO reject Russia’s core security requirements?" RIA Novosti issued such a question on the 27th. In fact, the negative reaction of the United States to Russia’s proposal will not surprise Russia. The report said that the United States promoted the escalation of the situation in Ukraine and even prepared to drag Russia into the war at the expense of Ukraine in order to consume Russia’s strength and weaken the relationship between Europe and Russia. Russia and Europe have long been divided, which is in the interest of Anglo-Saxons. With the help of the Ukrainian issue, the United States can contain Russia and dominate European affairs.
"Every effort must be made to avoid war," Russian "Viewpoint" quoted Medvedev, vice chairman of the Russian Federal Security Council, as saying in a joint interview with the media that if there were a direct conflict between Russia and NATO over the Ukrainian issue, "it would be the most tragic and simply catastrophic situation. I hope this will never happen. " He said that the only possibility to avoid war is to reach an agreement. Russia needs security to eliminate the obvious threat that has already formed. If Ukraine joins NATO, new military bases and new offensive weapons will appear near the border with Russia.
When answering whether Russia and China will form a military alliance to put pressure on the containment of the anti-American West, Medvedev said that Russia and China do not seek to establish a military alliance, but "the level of relations between the two countries is at an all-time high, which affects the balance of power in the world".
On 26th, Wang Yi, State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China, telephoned Blinken at the request, and his position on the Ukrainian issue attracted the attention of the international media. "Foreign Minister China warned Blinken to take Russian security concerns seriously." The German newspaper Sü ddeutsche Zeitung said that Wang Yi called on all parties to remain calm and not to do anything to stimulate tension and exaggerate the crisis. He stressed that all parties should form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiations, and Russia’s legitimate security concerns should be taken seriously and resolved.