Kommersant english: West strengthens opposition to "aggression"

Against the backdrop of the NATO-Russia Council meeting in Brussels and on the eve of the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna, the "threat of a Russian attack on Ukraine" became one of the key issues in the strategic dialogue on security. The U.S. and its allies, who consider "Russian aggression" real or pretend to consider it as such, increase pressure on Moscow by threatening it with sanctions. In turn, Kiev, armed with the slogan "No Solutions for Ukraine Without Ukraine," has launched a diplomatic counteroffensive designed to permanently divide Russia and the West. Discussions of Russian proposals on security guarantees, taking place in Geneva, Brussels, and Vienna in the form of alternating U.S.-Russian consultations, as well as two meetings - the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE Permanent Council (scheduled for January 13) - were the three main, but not the only, formats of diplomacy this week. In fact, the fourth format, or another diplomatic track that was outside of the negotiation process but had a growing influence on it, was statements by politicians, officials, and diplomats who were not part of the negotiation teams but who took on the role of prompter. See in Kommersant english. Kiev was the most active on this track. Without waiting for Thursday, when the Ukrainian delegation arrived to the OSCE meeting in Vienna, President Vladimir Zelensky and his entourage joined the dialogue between Russia and the West as a third party, pedaling the thesis: "No solution for Ukraine without Ukraine. At the same time, the Ukrainian side once again tries to set the tone in pressuring Russia, appealing to Euro-Atlantic solidarity and considering it a test of readiness to tighten sanctions against Moscow at any moment. "The position of Western countries in the dialogue with Russia must remain tough and resolute. We must be prepared to immediately implement a preventive package of sanctions against Russia to counter the Kremlin's aggressive intentions," President Zelensky said during a telephone conversation Tuesday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the topic of which was the Western-Russian negotiation formats. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held telephone conversations with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the same day, the topic of which also included contacts with Russia in the formats of Russian-U.S. consultations, the Russia-NATO Council and the OSCE Permanent Council. According to Dmytro Kuleba, Kiev "continues to work actively to consolidate partners against the threat of further Russian aggression," and the U.S. "remains the number one security partner." "Thanks to active diplomatic work, Ukraine has strong international support. There is a growing understanding among our partners that the Euro-Atlantic space will be secure only when Ukraine is secure. Negotiations in Geneva have proved that our strength lies in unity and coherence of positions against the background of Russian ultimatums," Dmytro Kuleba did not hide his satisfaction. A statement of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted that the heads of diplomatic departments of the two countries discussed "further implementation of a comprehensive package to deter Russia from further aggression, in particular, tough economic sanctions against Russia and practical strengthening of the defense capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces. All new statements by U.S. diplomats and officials show that Russian officials' assurances that Moscow has no plans to attack Ukraine not only lower the temperature of the rhetoric, but raise it. Kommersant english version. "The situation is exacerbated by the massive pulling of Russian military forces to the border with Ukraine. The U.S. has a feeling of emergency," U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan told the Dozhd TV channel (recognized in Russia as a foreign agent) on Tuesday. According to the head of the US diplomatic mission in Moscow, there are "numerous discussions" between US President Joe Biden and Vladimir Zelenski, and between Anthony Blinken and Dmitry Kuleba about security issues, amid meetings in Geneva and Brussels. "These discussions continue almost every day at a very, very high level and will continue," said John Sullivan. For her part, speaking at a briefing at the White House on Tuesday, US administration spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she was "seriously concerned about Russia's build-up of forces near the border with Ukraine." As a reminder, the press service of the Western Military District (ZVO) said on Tuesday that about 3,000 servicemen of the Guards Red Banner Combined Arms Army of the ZVO started combat training at combined arms training ranges in the Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk and Smolensk regions. U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland issued the harshest warning to Moscow. "Russia has a difficult choice to make: Choose the path of diplomacy and dialogue or pursue confrontation and the large-scale consequences it will entail," she said, pointing out that if the Russian government "destabilizes the situation in Ukraine," the United States and its allies will make Moscow pay a high price for it. As one of the measures, the U.S. Undersecretary of State named the suspension of the launch of the Nord Stream-2 pipeline. "We are working with the German side, with the EU, to slow down their consideration of the use of the pipeline. The current German government has taken significant steps to do this. It has also reiterated the agreements we reached with the previous government on what will happen with Nord Stream 2, namely that its operation will be suspended if Russia resorts to aggression against Ukraine," Ms. Nuland said. "We will respond with large-scale economic measures, including those not used before," she threatened. At the same time, according to her statement, restrictive measures on the part of the U.S. and European allies need not coincide. Meanwhile, Democratic senators have developed a new package of sanctions against Russia that will be imposed "if President Putin invades Ukraine. The initiative was spearheaded by the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez. The new U.S. sanctions could affect high-ranking Russian military and officials, including Vladimir Putin personally, as well as affect major banks. In addition, the bill calls for "consideration of all available and appropriate measures" to oppose the launch of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.