After crisis talks to reduce tensions between Russia and Western countries, Moscow has increased the pressure. On Thursday, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov did not rule out the possibility that the Russian military would be stationed in Cuba and Venezuela if talks on binding security guarantees for Moscow failed. “I don’t want to confirm or rule out anything,” he said in response to a question on the RTVi station.
“Everything depends on the actions of American colleagues.” Russia is one of the most important allies of the two socialist countries that are relatively close to the United States.
On Wednesday, representatives of the 30 NATO countries and Russia held talks for the first time in two and a half years – about the Ukraine conflict and security guarantees that Moscow is demanding from the transatlantic military alliance. There was also a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on Thursday. A high-level meeting of representatives of Russia and the United States was held in Geneva on Monday.
Russia sees its security threatened by NATO and is therefore demanding an end to NATO’s eastward expansion and, in particular, a renunciation of Ukraine’s membership. Western countries, on the other hand, are alarmed about the current Russian troop deployment near Ukraine.
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Moscow was disappointed with the negotiations. According to the Interfax agency, Ryabkov said there were no new talks with the United States for the time being. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke of a “serious confrontation on the world stage” and accused the negotiating partners of an “arrogant” attitude. Russia’s next steps would depend on its response to Moscow’s proposals.
Russia insists on an early decision on the required security guarantees. A delay could lead to an “inevitable deterioration in the security situation of all states without exception,” Moscow’s OSCE ambassador Alexander Lukashevich warned. “Russia is a peace-loving country. But we don’t need peace at any price,” he said in Vienna.
Despite the lack of results so far, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock advocated continuing talks with Russia. “Even if there have been no real movements at the moment, it is important that we finally return to the dialogue table,” said the Green politician on Thursday at the sidelines of an EU meeting in Brest, France. “The important thing is that we are sitting at the table, that talks are being held now. And – even if it’s hard – with a lot of patience and perseverance.”
“Risk of War in the OSCE Area”
Colleagues such as Luxembourg’s Jean Asselborn expressed similar views in the north-western French port city. “We are here (…) to prevent wars, to do everything to ensure that no wars break out,” said the longest-serving EU Foreign Minister. No door should be slammed. At the same time, representatives of countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania and Poland called for clear red lines to be drawn up for Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, citing in particular Moscow’s call for a halt to NATO expansion as an example.
At the OSCE meeting in Vienna, on the other hand, the precarious situation was emphasized. “The risk of war in the OSCE area” seems greater than at any time in the past 30 years, said Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, who chairs the organization this year. Rau suggested a broad dialogue on security issues in Europe within the framework of the OSCE, without giving details.
The OSCE is the only regional security forum where the US and Russia regularly sit around the same table. Hundreds of OSCE observers are also monitoring the situation in eastern Ukraine, which is partly controlled by separatists with Moscow’s support.
Washington’s OSCE representative, Michael Carpenter, named the topics that should be discussed in Vienna from the US perspective: Information exchange between armed forces and confidence-building measures could help to reduce tensions. However, no regional spheres of influence should be defined. Carpenter emphasized that the right of states to freely choose their alliances should not be curtailed.
Meanwhile, Democratic US Senator Bob Menendez, along with 26 party colleagues, presented a bill in Washington that provides for extensive sanctions against Russian banks and leaders in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Entry bans would be imposed on President Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Foreign Minister Lavrov and high-ranking military officials, and their assets in the United States would be frozen.
Moscow reacted with outrage. “The timing of this statement is an attempt to put pressure on Moscow,” Peskov said. If the sanctions are imposed, it could lead to a severing of relations. “I think this is some kind of nervous breakdown,” Lavrov said.
More: The chairman of the Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee is calling for tough sanctions against Russia