The United States and its NATO allies tried Friday, January 7 to agree on a common position before the American-Russian talks Monday in Geneva on security in Europe with which the Europeans want to be associated.
A meeting of the foreign ministers of the Alliance countries was organized by videoconference to establish positions before a long diplomatic sequence.
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"
The meeting has a dual objective: to remain united and to ensure that Europeans are associated with discussions on security in the European area
", explained the representative of a European country before the meeting. "
The entire geopolitical situation in the region requires that Europe, the European Union, be able to offer its vision, act and sit around the table with all the stakeholders
", insisted French President Emmanuel Macron during a meeting in Paris with the members of the European Commission chaired by the German Ursula von der Leyen.
US-Russian talks are due to open Monday in Geneva to defuse the risk of Russian intervention in Ukraine.
They will be followed by a NATO-Russia Council Wednesday in Brussels and a meeting Thursday within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe with Ukraine and Georgia.
"Russia has a lot to lose from a conflict"
The Europeans will meet their Defense and Foreign Ministers on Thursday and Friday in Brest (western France), to which NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will join. “
Nobody knows if (Russian President) Vladimir Putin wants to intervene in Ukraine. Russia has a lot to lose from a conflict
, ”said the European diplomat. “
Russia wants to re-establish its sphere of influence over the countries which are close to it. It seeks to push back NATO and wants to prevent any enlargement to Ukraine and Georgia, and even Finland and Sweden, he explained. But by her aggressiveness, she provokes what she wants to avoid
”.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson consulted Jens Stoltenberg on Friday to be associated with NATO discussions on Ukraine and security in Europe. No discussion is planned on sanctions. "
NATO is not the forum for this
", explained the diplomat.
Within the Organization, positions diverge.
Turkey openly talks about the need for a partnership with Russia, and Hungary does not hide its pro-Russian positions.
The countries of Central Europe are hostile to negotiations with Moscow and do not hide their perplexity at the action of the United States.
“
Every now and then we feel like we don't really know what their goal is
,” commented an East European diplomat.
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