Ukraine-Russia conflict: crisis meeting in Moscow is approaching - surprising declaration shows "rare unity"

Created: 01/04/2022, 05:12 AM

From: Florian Naumann

Vladimir Putin speaks during the taping of his annual televised New Year's Eve at the Kremlin in Moscow.

© dpa / Kremlin Press Service via AP

The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to smolder - this is also having an impact on Turkey.

Joe Biden is on the phone with Kiev.

The news ticker.

• Since a Russian troop deployment near the border, new concerns about a Russian-Ukrainian conflict have flared up.

• On Monday, the USA, China, Russia, France and Great Britain demonstrated “rare unity” in the midst of the Ukraine crisis

  (see update from January 3, 7:05 p.m.).

• A Ukraine crisis meeting is planned in Moscow on Thursday

  (see update from January 3, 3:40 p.m.).

• This news ticker on the Ukraine-Russia conflict is continuously updated.

Update from January 3rd, May 19th:

The relationship between Russia and the USA and other Western powers is extremely tense.

In the midst of the Ukraine crisis, an agreement was reached on Monday between the UN veto powers USA, Russia, China, France and Great Britain, which demonstrated "rare unity", as the German press agency reported.

The five countries spoke out against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

"A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be waged," the statement said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow expressed the hope that the joint statement would ease international tensions.

The background to the worsening Ukraine crisis is the movement of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, which raised concerns about a possible attack in the West.

The Kremlin denied the allegations.

Crisis meeting with Germany, France and Ukraine on Thursday in Moscow

Update from January 3, 3:40 p.m.:

In the Ukraine conflict, there is to be a crisis meeting this Thursday in Moscow with the participation of Germany and France at the advisory level. The responsible Kremlin official Dmitri Kosak invited to the talks in the so-called Normandy format - including with Ukraine. The Interfax agency reported on Monday, citing a source in the presidential administration. For Germany, the foreign policy advisor to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Jens Plötner, is there. The diplomat Emmanuel Bonne, advisor to President Emmanuel Macron, comes from France. There was initially no information from the Ukrainian side.

Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit had previously announced in Berlin that Plötner would travel to Moscow this week.

A report of the

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about a possible meeting between Scholz with Putin in January Hebestreit would not confirm.

At the moment he has nothing to report on it.

Ukraine conflict: Biden draws a clear line

Update from January 3, 9:05 a.m.:

US President Joe Biden has assured his Ukrainian colleague Volodymyr Selenskyj support in the conflict with Russia.

Biden made it clear that the United States and its allies "will respond decisively if Russia continues to invade Ukraine," said the White House in Washington on Sunday after a phone call between the two presidents.

Biden and Selenskyj therefore also support diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions with Russia.

Talks between the USA and Russia in Geneva are planned for the coming week - January 9th and 10th.

Thereafter, a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council is scheduled - the first in two and a half years.

In addition, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will hold talks afterwards.

Ukraine conflict: Biden pledges support to Zelenskyi

Selenskyj announced in the short message service Twitter that he had discussed the “joint actions of Ukraine, the USA and partners for maintaining peace in Europe” and steps towards de-escalation with Biden.

Zelenskyi had only said in his New Year's address that he not only wanted to bring the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, back to Ukraine.

The parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists should also come back, he said.

According to the White House, Biden emphasized that the US is committed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

In the event of a Russian attack on Ukraine, the US government has threatened severe economic sanctions that would be coordinated with its allies in Europe.

In addition, in such a case, NATO's presence in its eastern member states should be expanded.

The US would also provide Ukraine with additional aid, including for the armed forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and US President Joe Biden at their meeting in June 2021. © Denis Balibouse / dpa

Russia conflict: Putin and Erdogan speak after explosive dispute

First report from January 2:

Moscow / Washington DC - The conflict on the Russian-Ukrainian border * continues to cause excitement on the global stage. And that goes far beyond Moscow and Kiev: On Sunday, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan * tried to repair largely unnoticed collateral damage in the relationship between Russia and Turkey in the West. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden wanted to continue telephone diplomacy, now with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj.

There were also worrying developments over the weekend: According to information from Kiev, a soldier was killed in fighting with pro-Russian militias in eastern Ukraine on Saturday.

The Ukrainian army said that despite a ceasefire, the pro-Russian fighters had launched three attacks within 24 hours, using grenade launchers and small arms.

A soldier was fatally injured.

It was the first victim since a renewed ceasefire was announced on December 22nd.

But there were violations before.

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Putin and Erdogan also have a crunch - a phone call on Sunday

According to the Kremlin, Putin and Erdogan spoke about Russian demands for an end to NATO's Easter expansion.

Turkey * is a member of NATO itself.

The phone call on Sunday was about Putin's proposals for legally binding agreements that should guarantee Russia's security, it said.

But there was probably more to it than that.

The last time there was a crunch between the two countries.

A month ago, Putin had sharply criticized Turkish deliveries of combat drones to the Ukrainian military over concerns that the aircraft could be used against pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The NATO state Turkey rejected this: Ankara could not be held responsible for the use of Turkish drones by Ukraine.

The use of a Turkish product is a matter for the buying country.

In any case, the official announcements were meaningless to amicable.

Putin and Erdogan "exchanged New Year's greetings, summarized the most important results of bilateral cooperation and reiterated their desire to further intensify the mutually beneficial partnership between Russia and Turkey," the Kremlin said.

Erdogan's office said both sides had discussed “steps to improve Turkish-Russian relations” and confirmed their desire to expand cooperation “in all areas”.

Ukraine worried after Russian deployment: Biden wants to call Zelenskyi

According to information from Washington, Biden wanted to "reaffirm US support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine" during the phone call with Selenskyj. It will be about "Russia's military rearmament on the Ukrainian borders", Washington wants to prepare "upcoming diplomatic efforts" for a de-escalation, it said in advance of the US side. Zelenskyi announced that he would "coordinate steps for the benefit of peace in Ukraine and security in Europe" with Biden. 

Biden had already called Russian President Putin on Thursday (December 30th). Both exchanged threats, but at the same time called for negotiations. The background is a massive Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine. The West fears that Russia could attack the neighboring country. The government in Moscow denies any plans to attack, rejects criticism of the troop movements and, for its part, accuses Kiev and NATO of "provocations".

Russia is demanding security guarantees from the West and has submitted drafts for two agreements with the USA and NATO, which are intended to prohibit the eastward expansion of the military alliance and the establishment of US military bases in states of the former Soviet sphere of influence.

The far-reaching demands were rejected by several NATO members.

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