Biden and Putin agreed to meet Ukraine - NRK Urix - Foreign news and documentaries

It was French President Emmanuel Macron who suggested a meeting between Biden and Putin, according to the French presidential office.

It was emphasized that the summit could only take place if Russia did not invade Ukraine.

The statement said that the meeting will also extend to other parties involved in the conflict to discuss “security and strategic stability in Europe.”

The United States confirms the plans

The White House confirmed the information Monday night, Norwegian time. Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States “is obligated to follow the diplomatic path until the invasion begins.”

“President Biden has agreed in principle to meet with President Putin…if there is no invasion,” Psaki said.

Biden had previously said he believed Putin decided to invade. But he is ready to meet with the Russian president anytime and anywhere.

We are also ready to deliver quick and difficult consequences if Russia opts instead for war. She added that for the time being, Russia appears to be continuing preparations for a large-scale invasion of Ukraine very soon.

The date of the meeting is unknown

No date has been set for the meeting of the two presidents.

Foreign Ministers Anthony Blinken and Sergey Lavrov will begin preparations on Thursday, February 24th. This meeting was arranged before the end of the week.

Russian media reported that Lavrov would also hold a conversation with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday.

The Ukraine crisis will also dominate today’s meeting of European Union foreign ministers.

In addition, a meeting of foreign ministers of the so-called Normandy Group, consisting of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, was agreed upon. This is according to a statement issued by the Kremlin.

It was this group that negotiated ceasefire agreements between the Ukrainian government and Russia-backed dissident groups in eastern Ukraine, the so-called Minsk Accords, in 2015.

Facts about the Minsk Accords

A ceasefire for Ukraine, signed in the Belarusian capital Minsk on February 12, 2015.

According to the agreement, all heavy weapons will be withdrawn from a buffer zone of at least 50 kilometers from the front in eastern Ukraine.
All prisoners of war and hostages must be released.
The agreement contains a plan for progress to achieve lasting peace in the Donbass region. Pro-Russian separatists control large parts of the region.
According to the agreement, Ukraine will regain control of its border with Russia, but only after local elections and the entry into force of a new constitution. It was supposed to happen by the end of 2015, but it hasn’t happened yet.
The National Assembly of Ukraine was given 30 days to decide which geographical area would be granted autonomy. A law to this effect was passed in March, but it will only be implemented when regional elections are held in line with Ukrainian laws.
The agreement also presupposes the “withdrawal of all foreign armed elements, military equipment and mercenaries.”

Source: NTB

The French President had two long phone calls with Vladimir Putin on Sunday afternoon and evening. He has also been in contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Olof Schulz, as well as US President Joe Biden.

Biden canceled a trip to his home in Delaware at short notice. It happened after a four-hour meeting with the National Security Council.

Ukraine-conflict

Satellite images show new Russian military activity

US intelligence says it has credible information that Russia has ordered troops on the border with Ukraine to continue its invasion plans.

At the same time, new photos from the satellite image company Maxar Technologies show that Russia has deployed more soldiers and more military equipment near the border with Ukraine.

Several armored vehicles and soldiers were said to have left the marching area and moved into forest areas and over fields 14 to 30 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, according to the company.

The new photos, said to have been taken on Sunday, show tracks of vehicles over snow-covered fields, which are surrounded by forested areas and roads. Several buildings also appear on the satellite images. The photos must have been taken in southwestern Russia.

Most of the combat and support divisions in Solotti have left the area. Maksar writes that large grooves and some columns of armored equipment can be seen in the area.

There is also activity near Waliwiki about 15 kilometers north of the border and new deployments northwest of Belgorod, which is about 30 kilometers from the border, according to the company.

The chief researcher believes the allegations are true

The United States and NATO estimate that more than 150,000 Russian soldiers are besieging Ukraine from three sides. About half of them should be ready to fight and able to attack within 48 hours, according to an official US source.

There is enough support for the US claims, says senior researcher Tor Bokvall at NRK’s Armed Forces Research Institute.

– DrThere are now such large forces out there, and so much equipment has been developed that it may not be enough for a full conquest, but at least a major military action.And the Buckvoll says.

The main problem for anyone trying to explain the situation, he says, is that the preparations for a real invasion are the same as “Operation intimidation”.

– TheIt is not possible to see from what is happening on the ground, Bokful says, whether it is intimidation, pushing the West and Ukraine to come forward in negotiations, or whether actual military action is being prepared.

Russian authorities said before the weekend that they were in the process of withdrawing their forces from Ukraine’s border regions. But it takes time to transport such large amounts of soldiers and equipment that were brought there because of the large military exercises.

Representatives of NATO and the West stubbornly claim this They don’t see any real withdrawal, they see accumulation.

– Russians It has pulled some departments, especially from Crimea, but it’s so small that it doesn’t really stand out in the big picture, says Bokvol.

Do you think Putin will keep up the pressure?

According to Agence France-Presse, during talks with Macron, Vladimir Petit reiterated that the United States and NATO should take the demand for Russian security guarantees seriously.

Russian requirements

In mid-December, Russia announced its demands to the United States and NATO. It claims that the following main points are critical to the country’s security:

NATO must stop its expansion in the East. Countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union, which are not now members of NATO, will not be able to become so in the future. Other European countries that are not currently members will not be allowed to do so.
NATO opened to Ukrainian and Georgian NATO membership in 2008. This must be withdrawn. It must also be ensured that there are no NATO bases in the two countries.
NATO and Russia will not deploy forces or weapons in countries where they did not have them prior to May 1997. This means the withdrawal of NATO forces from member states such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania.
Military exercises should not be conducted near the border between Russia and a NATO country. This will affect Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
The United States and Russia will not send ships and warplanes to areas where the other side can be attacked.
Russia and the United States will not have nuclear weapons deployed outside their territories. That is, the United States cannot store nuclear weapons in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy, as is the case now.
Russia and the United States will not deploy medium-range missiles in areas where they can reach the territory of the other side. The proposal may be intended to be an alternative to the Disarmament Agreement that the two parties withdrew from in 2019.

Russia demanded a written response from NATO and the United States. The answer was delivered in mid-January. This has not been published.

The Russians claim that earlier promises made orally regarding the end of the Cold War were not kept.

Note: the above list is not complete.

– nThe United States and Oto agreed to negotiate one of the points. For its part, Russia says that is not enough.

– I think Russia thinks that if they keep the pressure on long enough, maybe some Western governments or Ukraine will give up at some point. So they get more than what they have achieved so far.

– But what exactly it could be isn’t easy to see, says senior researcher Tor Bokfol.