China supports Russia’s demands for binding security guarantees in the conflict with the West. Both countries are also demanding an end to NATO expansion to the east. This emerges from a joint statement released by the Kremlin at the summit of party and state leader Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin in Beijing. “No state could or should ensure its security in isolation from global security and at the expense of the security of other states,” it says. NATO should abandon “the ideological approaches of the Cold War era”. Russia and China also condemn the Aukus Pact, a trilateral military alliance that the USA, Australia and Great Britain concluded last autumn.
Unlike many other heads of state and government, Putin is taking part in the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. For the Russian President, the trip is a good opportunity to symbolically take a stand against the Western states. In addition, the Russian government has apparently initiated new deals with China. Putin said his country has prepared a contract to supply China with an additional 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually. As the Reuters news agency reports, the Russian state-owned company Gazprom and the Chinese energy giant CNPC are said to have agreed on a 30-year contract. In the future, gas exports should increase to a total of 48 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Putin also announced proposals for increased supplies to the oil sector.
China has a great need for energy imports for its fast-growing industry. For Russia, deliveries from East Siberian gas sources to Asian countries represent a second sales channel. Russia also supplies gas to the West. However, political relations are currently more tense than they have been in years, mainly because of the Ukraine crisis. (02/04/2022)
Von der Leyen threatens sanctions
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlines the sanctions that threaten Russia if it continues to aggress against Ukraine. “We have prepared a robust and comprehensive package of financial and economic sanctions,” she says Handelsblatt and Les Echos. It includes the “limitation of access to foreign capital” and “export controls, especially technical goods”. The Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2 is also part of the sanctions package.
She expressly did not rule out economic fines against President Vladimir Putin personally. People from his environment and oligarchs could also be hit hard. In addition, the EU is preparing a technology embargo. “It’s about high-tech components that Russia cannot simply replace, for example in the fields of artificial intelligence and armaments, quantum computers, lasers and space travel.” (02/04/2022)
Macron is traveling to Moscow and Kiev next week
French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Moscow and Kiev next week to mediate in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This was reported from the Élysée Palace in Paris. Macron will first fly to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. The day after, a meeting with the Ukrainian head of state, Volodymyr Zelensky, is on the agenda. He had recently spoken to both of them several times on the phone.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also wants to travel to Moscow “soon”. A meeting between Macron, Scholz and Polish President Andzrej Duda is also planned in Berlin. As it was said from the Élysée Palace, an appointment is still being sought. Both Germany and France have been mediating in the conflict for years. (02/04/2022)
France wants to move troops to Romania’s EU external border
This Thursday, France wants to specify its plans to send troops to Romania as part of a future NATO mission. “France is ready to commit to new NATO security measures for Romania,” said Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in his speech to the Romanian Parliament on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Romania’s accession to the EU.
“We are proud to stand by you when the security situation deteriorates along your borders, which are also our borders.” The government in Paris has offered to lead the mission. The US has already deployed troops to Poland, Romania and a smaller contingent to Germany. (03.02.2022)
Erdoğan offers himself as a mediator
Amid high tensions in the Ukraine conflict, diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution continue. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev this Thursday. In addition to trade relations, the crisis between Ukraine and neighboring Russia should also be discussed. Erdoğan had already offered several times to act as a mediator. The Kremlin recently welcomed talks between Turkey and Ukraine.
NATO member Turkey maintains good relations with both Ukraine and Russia. According to government circles, Erdoğan will not side with either side. Turkey expects tensions to ease after the talks. The Turkish President will call on both sides to exercise restraint and wants to continue cooperation with both countries.
Erdoğan described a possible Russian intervention as “not realistic” and a wrong step. To the anger of the Kremlin, Turkey has repeatedly criticized the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and repeatedly insisted on Ukraine’s independence – also because the Muslim minority of the Crimean Tatars has historically been closely linked to their southern neighbor on the Black Sea.
However, Turkey also has a strong interest in good relations with Moscow: Most tourists come from Russia, and Moscow is also the largest supplier of gas. In 2020, almost 34 percent of gas imports came from there. (03.02.2022)
Ex-SPD leader Gabriel sees Nord Stream 2 as a pawn in the Ukraine conflict
Former SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel is against stopping the commissioning of the controversial Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline prematurely because of the Ukraine conflict. “No one will open Nord Stream 2 if Russia invades Ukraine. Conversely, it would be pretty stupid to take the project off the table now, because if you want to negotiate, you also have to have something to offer,” Gabriel told the magazine business week. (03.02.2022)
Biden wants to move additional troops
US President Joe Biden wants to move more troops to Central and Eastern Europe. According to the US Department of Defense, around 2,000 soldiers are to be sent from the USA to Germany and Poland. In turn, 1,000 US soldiers would be transferred from Germany to Romania.
The troop transfer is a sign to the Eastern European allies in NATO, who feel threatened by a possible push by the Russian army across the Russian-Ukrainian border. The troop transfers would be made in the coming days, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. They are an “unmistakable signal” to the world that the United States stands by its allies. Any action against a NATO state would trigger the defense alliance’s duty of assistance, Kirby emphasized. “We make it clear that we will stand ready to defend our NATO allies should that come to pass. Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Kirby said.
The spokesman added that the deployment of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border continues unchanged “even for the past 24 hours”. The current situation therefore requires that the “deterrence and defense readiness on NATO’s eastern flank” be strengthened. The transfers are not permanent, but if necessary more troops could be called in.
On Biden’s orders, 8,500 soldiers in the United States were put on increased readiness last week to enable rapid transfer to Europe if necessary. Biden had emphasized that it was a precautionary measure. The President and other members of the government have repeatedly made it clear that no US soldiers would be sent to Ukraine. Pentagon spokesman Kirby explained that the troops that have now been deployed can be seen separately from these 8,500 soldiers.
Tens of thousands of US soldiers are regularly stationed in Europe, including around 35,000 in Germany, even outside of times of crisis. With more than 100,000 Russian troops deployed near Ukraine, fears are growing in the West that Russia is planning an invasion of its neighbor. The Kremlin denies that. However, it is also considered possible that Moscow only wants to stir up fears in order to persuade the NATO states to make concessions on demands for new security guarantees. (02/02/2022)
The US and NATO consider most of the Russian demands to be unacceptable
The Spanish Newspaper El País has published the previously classified responses from NATO and the US to Russia’s proposals for new security agreements. The documents published online According to them, the Americans and the military alliance make it clear that they do not accept most of the Russian proposals.
At the same time, NATO and the USA are open to concrete negotiations and new agreements. According to its response to Russia, the United States is prepared to rule out the permanent stationing of combat troops and ground-based missile systems in Ukraine, if Moscow also makes the corresponding commitments. An end to the current Russian troop deployment on the borders with Ukraine is mentioned by NATO and the USA as a prerequisite for successful negotiations. According to the NATO response, this is central to significant progress. The authenticity of the documents was confirmed to the German Press Agency from alliance circles.
With more than 100,000 troops deployed near Ukraine, fears are growing in the West that the Kremlin is planning an invasion of the former Soviet republic. However, it is also considered possible that fears are only being stirred up in order to persuade the NATO states to make concessions when demands for new security guarantees are made. Moscow wants to get NATO to rule out further easter expansion and, in particular, the admission of Ukraine. It also calls for a withdrawal of NATO troops from eastern alliance states. (02/02/2022)