Nato allies close ranks for Russia talks
Kremlin ‘ultimatums’ infuriate Ukraine
BRUSSELS: The United States and its European allies closed ranks as they prepared to meet Russian envoys yesterday at Nato for talks to calm tensions on the Ukraine border, with both sides refusing to give ground.
Russia’s massive troop build-up around already partially-occupied Ukraine has forced Washington to engage with Moscow to head off fears of an all-out military confrontation. But, after an initial round of US-Russia talks in Geneva on Monday proved inconclusive, the next round of dialogue was to move to Nato headquarters in Brussels yesterday.
Ahead of the meeting, US negotiator Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman rallied Western allies, some of whom were worried they might be sidelined.
“It’s too early to tell whether the Russians are serious about the path to diplomacy or not, or if they’re prepared to negotiate seriously — we are,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday. US President Joe Biden’s spokeswoman insisted: “Nato’s relationship with Ukraine is a matter only for Ukraine and the 30 Nato allies, not for other countries to determine.”
But Washington’s European allies are keen not to be sidelined, as President Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin seeks to roll back what it sees as the West’s postCold-War encroachment on its turf.
“There’s no reason to be optimistic,” a senior European diplomat told AFP. “But the Russians are seriously engaged on the diplomatic track.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday reiterated his demand that France and Germany host a new international summit between Moscow and Kyiv to end the conflict.
The French presidency said the Kremlin had agreed for France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine to hold such talks “by the end of January”.
And Mr Zelensky’s spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov welcomed “the intent and efforts of the United States and Russia, and Nato and Russia to reduce tensions and resolve all mutual issues at the negotiating table.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said “unity” was key against what he described as “Russian ultimatums”.
On Tuesday, Ms Sherman was at Nato headquarters to brief European allies. She brought Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg up to date on her Geneva talks with Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, and then met Nato ambassadors.
“The United States is committed to working in lockstep with our allies and partners to urge de-escalation and respond to the security crisis caused by Russia,” she said.
After more than seven hours of negotiations in Geneva on Monday, the Russian and US officials both offered to keep talking, though there was no breakthrough.
At Nato, Russia will be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, who has described the meeting as “a moment of truth” in Russia-Nato relations. Moscow’s demands include a concrete guarantee that Ukraine will not be allowed to join Nato.
The allies have long insisted that Nato membership is a matter for sovereign states to decide for themselves and on Tuesday once again vowed to preserve their open-door policy. They also threatened massive economic and financial sanctions against Moscow if its huge troop build-up on Ukraine’s frontiers and in already Russianoccupied Crimea turns into a full-scale invasion.