Wednesday’s interview between Joe Biden and Vladimir Poutin was therefore not that “useful”. The United States renewed Saturday, at a meeting of the G7 in the United Kingdom, its call to Russia for a “de-escalation” of tensions with Ukraine, assuring that the great Western powers were ready to impose in Moscow “massive” sanctions in the event of an attack.
An American official present in Liverpool, in the north of England, for the meeting of foreign ministers which is held until Sunday, assured that it was still possible to resolve “by diplomacy” this new Ukrainian crisis. For this, the US government has announced that it is sending its Deputy Secretary of State for Europe, Karen Donfried, to Ukraine and Russia from Monday to Wednesday, in search of “diplomatic progress to end the conflict in the Donbass. “, In eastern Ukraine,” by implementing the Minsk agreements “.
Pressure on Russia
These agreements reached in 2015 to end the war that broke out a year earlier in this Ukrainian region between the forces of Kiev and pro-Russian separatists were never really respected. But if Russia “decides not to take this diplomatic route”, “there will be massive consequences and a significant price to pay, and the G7 is absolutely united on this,” warned the American official.
“Not only the countries that were in the room but an even greater number of democratic states would join us in making Russia pay the price”, she added. Washington, the Europeans and Kiev have accused Moscow for a few weeks of preparations to possibly invade Ukraine, which the Kremlin denies. These remarks also echo those of US President Joe Biden, who “let know” Tuesday to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Russia would expose itself to “strong sanctions, including economic ones”, in the event of an attack. in Ukraine.
“Global aggressors”
Despite still extreme tensions, the two leaders had decided to task their teams with follow-up meetings to see if a diplomatic de-escalation was possible. Karen Donfried’s visit will therefore be the first step in this diplomatic process. The heads of diplomacy of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom have more broadly discussed their positioning against “global aggressors”, according to the expression of the British Presidency of the G7.
“We must unite with force to face the aggressors who try to limit the field of freedom and democracy”, launched the head of the British diplomacy Liz Truss at the opening of this two-day meeting. “For that, we must speak absolutely with one voice” in the face of “authoritarian regimes”, she added on behalf of the great powers which claim to be part of the democratic camp. If it did not name these adversaries, these remarks are part of the will, in particular of the United States, to involve the G7 in the Western strategy to counter the ambitions of China on the world stage.