Moscow lists demands for defusing Ukraine tensions

Russia said on Friday it wanted a legally binding guarantee that NATO would give up any military activity in Eastern Europe and Ukraine, part of a wish list of security guarantees it wants to negotiate with the West.

Moscow for the first time laid out in detail demands that it says are essential for lowering tensions in Europe and defusing a crisis over Ukraine, which Western countries have accused Russia of sizing up for a potential invasion after building up troops near the border. Russia has denied planning an invasion. The demands contain elements – such as an effective Russian veto on future NATO membership for Ukraine – that the West has already ruled out.
Others would imply the removal of U.S. nuclear weapons from Europe and the withdrawal of multinational NATO battalions from Poland and from the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania that were once in the Soviet Union.

Steve Rosenberg is the BBC’s Moscow correspondent and has been for many years. This is his analysis of the situation.

“Diplomacy is the art of the possible. Well it was… until now. It’s virtually impossible to imagine the US and Nato signing the draft documents Russian diplomats have drawn up, without considerable changes. Russia is demanding a veto on who joins the Alliance. A non-starter. Nato has said many times before that Moscow can have no say over who gets to be a member. Plus the Russians want to turn the clock back to May 1997. Any country that joined the Nato alliance after that date won’t be allowed Nato troops or weaponry. Moscow knows very well it’s demanding things the West won’t deliver, so why ask?”

Russia is demanding the “impossible” as far as NATO is concerned. This could be Putin’s way of blaming the West when (if) war starts on their own intransigence. Gog is preparing for war….

Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.  After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, (Ezekiel 38:7-8)

 

Andy Walton

Weekly World Watch: for this week

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Preceding

Powerful Russia rising from the ashes

Entering a new period of ‘Cold War’

PM warns Vladimir Putin against ‘tragic mistake’ as tensions rise with Ukraine

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8. President Joe Biden speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin to expect a clarification about the troop build up at the Ukraine border
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12. Prepare for Russian invasion of Ukraine, US warns European allies
13. Britain in talks to sell missiles in first arms deal with Ukraine
14. Russia has ‘no trust’ in Nato over Ukraine
15. If Russia chooses to fail to de-escalate
16. A lot of talk about a war beginning soon