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Putin: Soon decision on recognition of Luhansk and Donetsk
After days of military escalation in eastern Ukraine, diplomatic wires are running hot again. According to the Presidential Office in Paris on Monday, President Emmanuel Macron is trying to mediate a summit between the heads of state of Russia and the United States. The Kremlin in Moscow then announced that there were no concrete plans for a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden. However, a meeting between Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Department Head Antony Blinken on Thursday in Geneva was confirmed. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is also involved in the efforts. Scholz coordinated with Macron longer on Sunday evening, said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in Berlin. The situation is “extremely dangerous”. He again warned Russia of serious consequences in the event of an invasion. However, sanctions would only be triggered after an attack. The federal government would welcome it if Putin accepted Biden’s offer to talk. On Monday afternoon, Putin said that consideration should be given to recognizing the separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. The heads of the two breakaway, self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk had demanded recognition as independent provinces. With such a move, Putin would pave the way for a military invasion of eastern Ukraine. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warned that Ukraine had concentrated significant troops on the so-called contact line. He suspects that Ukraine wants to recapture the areas occupied by pro-Russian separatists. At the same time, according to insiders, the US government is preparing a first package of sanctions against Russia aimed at the banking sector. The plan is to ban US financial institutions from processing transactions for major Russian banks, said three people familiar with the matter. According to the information, the sanctions will only be implemented in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia has more than 100,000 soldiers stationed on the border with eastern Ukraine. The government in Moscow rejects accusations from the West that it is preparing an invasion and is demanding security guarantees.
In that case, the way would be paved for Russia to invade the territories.