“No accusing fingers”, according to Washington. “There was room for jokes and an exchange of compliments”, assures the Kremlin. The video interview between Joe Biden and Vladimir Poutin, which took place on Tuesday, December 7, allowed, for an undetermined time, to restore the primacy to diplomacy.
While the Russian military mobilization at the gates of Ukraine still raises serious concerns, the two presidents have each set out their expectations. Is this availability for dialogue a simple one-off gesture, or is it the first step in a gradual de-escalation? Basically, the positions always seem irreconcilable.
Russia reiterated its criticism of NATO’s growing influence in its neighborhood and Ukraine’s aspirations to join the Atlantic Alliance, a ” Red line “ to his eyes. Unsurprisingly, Vladimir Putin called for “Legal guarantees” excluding both an eastward extension of NATO and the deployment of advanced weapon systems. The two leaders agreed, according to the Kremlin statement, for their advisers to conduct consultations on these “Sensitive issues”.
For Moscow, this is an important first step, which amounts to recognizing the legitimacy of Russian concerns. The result is certainly not spectacular, but after the dramatization of the last few days, Russian officials warned that there would be no decisive progress as of Tuesday evening.
The Russian president, who was in Sochi on the Black Sea, seemed to ignore threats of Western sanctions, broken with this practice since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. “The Russian soldiers are on their territory, they are not threatening anyone”Kremlin diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters. According to the latter, Vladimir Putin would have said to his counterpart, by way of conclusion: “You Americans are worried about our battalions in Russian territory thousands of miles from the United States. But we are very concerned about our own safety. “
The Russian president also said he was ready to standardize working conditions for the two diplomatic representations, in Moscow and Washington. A subject that Joe Biden willingly delegates to the level of experts, on both sides.
Washington’s attachment to Ukrainian sovereignty
In Washington, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan introduced himself to cameras and reporters in the White House press room to discuss the interview, which lasted two hours. Refusing to speculate on Russian intentions, nor to address the details of the measures envisaged by the American administration, he, however, laid down in clear terms the alternative for the coming weeks. The first option open to the Kremlin is diplomatic communication. It’s here “Alternative route”, according to Jake Sullivan, allowing to lower the tension.
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