Amid rising tensions in Ukraine and fears of a Russian invasion, the state of relations between Russia and the United States was called “very deplorable” by the Kremlin on Monday (6), on the eve of a bilateral meeting between the presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden.
US officials warned last month of an unusual Russian troop movement of 94,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, and expressed concern over a possible Russian offensive in January that would involve 175,000 troops — which Moscow denies and calls alarmism. The Biden government has already said it “prepares comprehensive and meaningful actions” to help Kiev in the event of an invasion.
It is in this context that the two presidents will meet this Tuesday (7), in a video call meeting. “Of course the agenda will be on bilateral relations, which remain in a very sorry state,” said Russian government spokesman Dmitri Peskov.
He specifically cited three topics of conversation: “The tension around Ukraine, the topic of NATO’s advance on our borders and President Putin’s initiatives to ensure security,” he said.
The Kremlin denies an imminent invasion and claims troops are deployed throughout its own territory for purely defensive reasons. For Moscow, the increased presence of NATO, a military coalition of Western powers, around former Soviet republics, and the possibility of the group deploying missiles in Ukraine aimed at Russia, is “a red line” that the United States will not be able to cross.
Putin is demanding security assurances that NATO will not expand across the region and will not deploy weapons near Russian territory, while Washington has repeated that no country can veto NATO’s alliance with Ukraine. “I don’t take red lines from anyone,” Biden said last Friday.
A US government official told reporters on Monday that Biden must alert Putin of the serious economic consequences the country will face if it invades Ukraine, and must say the country does not want to have to use force in the region.
Andrey Kortunov, head of Russia’s Council on International Relations, which is close to the country’s foreign ministry, says Biden and Putin have positions that are difficult to reconcile.
“The only thing they can probably agree on, if there’s a good conversation, is that everyone directly or indirectly involved in this situation should demonstrate restraint and commitment to easing tensions. On the other hand, I don’t see how Biden can promise to Putin said that NATO will not move east,” he says.
Russian and American analysts said the two leaders might agree to ease tensions.
The United States last week offered to mediate negotiations between Moscow and Kiev to end the conflicts that resulted in the ousting of the Ukrainian government nearly eight years ago, as well as negotiate an end to Russian support for separatist groups. Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, says Moscow has no objections to this at first.
For Vladimir Frolov, a foreign policy analyst and former Russian diplomat in the United States, bringing Washington into these negotiations can give the impression of defeat for Moscow.
In Kiev, President Volodimir Zelenski said Ukraine’s armed forces are able to resist Russian attacks. The country celebrated National Army Day on Monday with a display of US armored vehicles and patrol boats.
In the streets of Kiev, Ukrainians are divided over the negotiations scheduled for this Tuesday. “We believe Biden is a great friend of our country. So far he has proven to be a person who sincerely wants to help Ukraine out of this pointless situation,” said Volodimir Pilipiuk, 71. Bartender Ruslan Lapuk, 28, sees little chance. to get out of the conflict. “We have no one to rely on, except our own strength,” he said.
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