«We would like to remind the great powers – tweets Volodymyr Zelenskyj, the Ukrainian president – that there are no“ minor incursions ”, or small nations. Just as there are no minor victims, or minor sufferings for the loss of loved ones ».
Zelenskii was not the only one to reply to American President Joe Biden that on Wednesday evening he seemed to imagine a less harsh and less compact response from the Western allies to the idea of a Russian “minor incursion” into Ukraine. It was by no means a green light in Moscow, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary general, explained to CNN.
Confused even as to what he believes may be Putin’s intentions, Biden himself retraced his steps Thursday, recalling that “if any Russian unit crosses the Ukrainian border, that is an invasion”. Which will provoke a «hard and coordinated economic response, which I have discussed in detail with our allies and at the same time very clearly presented to President Putin. There is no doubt – said Biden -, if Putin makes this choice, Russia will pay a heavy price ».
And among the possible choices, in addition to the great fear of a real invasion, Biden recalled that “Russia has a long history of alternative ways to carry out an aggression: paramilitary tactics, hybrid attacks, cyberattacks, actions carried out by soldiers Russians who are not wearing the Russian uniform ». Like the so-called “little green men”, the American president recalled, referring to the unnamed and nameless soldiers who in February / March 2014 appeared as if out of nowhere in Crimea, preparing the way for the return of the Russians. “We must be ready to respond to all this in a decisive and united way,” concluded Biden.
La leva Nord Stream
The unity of the Western Front – the United States, NATO and the European Union – alongside Ukraine was also at the center of the day of the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Thursday in Berlin to meet with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The harmony with Germany is particularly significant for the next step, the meeting between Blinken and Sergej Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, on Friday in Geneva. In recent days Scholz and Baerbock have admitted for the first time the possibility of blocking the Nord Stream 2 project (Russian-German gas pipeline on which the Greens, now in the government, have a different position compared to the previous government) in the event of Russian intervention in Ukraine. “The gas is not yet flowing – observed Blinken at a press conference alongside Annalena Baerbock – which means that the pipeline can be a lever for Germany and the United States“.