Germany protagonist of the negotiations to avoid war. After meeting with the Ukrainian president yesterday Volodimir Zelenskytoday the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets Vladimir Putin in Moscow, while the Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio will be in Kiev. There diplomacy still at work, but weapons and troops they are ready for conflict.
Ukraine, the specter of the Russian invasion
by Gianluca Di Feo, edited by Paola Cipriani
7:46 Baerbock: “Russia withdraws its troops”
The German government once again invites Moscow to “withdraw its troops” from the areas bordering Ukraine: it did so through the mouth of the Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, in the hours in which Chancellor Olaf Scholz is preparing to arrive in Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin. Baerbock points out that “the situation is particularly dangerous and could escalate at any moment”; therefore “we must exploit all the opportunities for dialogue to reach a peaceful solution”, added the minister according to whom the responsibility for the de-escalation “obviously” lies with Russia and “it is up to Moscow to withdraw its troops”.
Ukrainian crisis: Valerij Gerasimov, the Russian general trained to see the future
by Rosalba Castelletti
7:30 “There is no reason for a Russian attack tomorrow”
Diplomacy continues its relentless work to avoid a conflict in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio is expected in Kiev today, while the German Chancellor flies to Moscow, Olaf Scholz, where he will meet the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Russia has no reason to invade Ukraine on February 16, as some Western media claim, Moscow’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, pointed out. “As far as I know, no, and I see no reason for that,” Polyansky stressed, calling the news of an impending invasion “ridiculous”. “Every day we learn something new about ourselves and about the attack plans, about the invasion attributed to us. For us it is surprising,” said the Russian representative to the UN in response to a reporter from the Cnn. Polyansky stressed that such news “is also a complete surprise for the Ukrainians. It seems – he added – that only the Americans are sure of something, but they do not share information, neither with us nor with the Ukrainians”.
This and the comments of Putin and his foreign and defense ministers seem to fuel the hope of a reduction in the escalation. Lavrov said that “there is always a chance” of reaching an agreement with the West. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured that the Russian president is “willing to negotiate” and added that the Ukrainian crisis is only part of Russia’s wider security concerns.
“Reducing tensions” and “preserving peace and stability” is the declared goal of Di Maio’s mission to Kiev.
Italy – said the head of the Farnesina – has a central role in international equilibrium, we continue to give our best with our diplomacy “.