At a time when russia's security dialogue with Western countries is at an impasse, US Secretary of State Blinken has launched a "whirlwind diplomacy" with Europe in an attempt to win over the United States' European allies to "cooperate in resisting Russia." But to Blinken's embarrassment, US President Biden has just "poured cold water" and bluntly said that nato countries still have many differences in their positions against Russia.
According to the British Reuters news agency and the German "Le Monde" reported on January 20, Blinken held talks with the foreign ministers of France and Germany and the British deputy foreign secretary in Berlin on the same day. Blinken declared that the United States and its European allies were "united" on Ukraine and that Russia's "invasion" of Ukraine would have "serious consequences."
Screenshot of the Reuters report
In order to show this "unity" to the outside world, Blinken also held a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Berberk. "We urgently demand that Russia take action to de-escalate the situation, and any further 'acts of aggression' will lead to serious consequences." Berberk said western countries would not shy away from action even if some of the sanctions could have an economic impact on themselves.
Blinken added that the "common goal" of the West is to de-escalate the situation through diplomacy, "but whatever Russia chooses, they will find the United States, Germany and other allies united." ”
Berlin is the second stop of Blinken's "whirlwind visit", he first visited Ukraine on the 19th, and met with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Kureba in Kiev. At a joint press conference with Culeba, Blinken focused on the Russian "threat", claiming that the Russian army has gathered 100,000 troops on the border and "may double the number of troops in a short period of time".
After the trip to Berlin, Blinken will go to Geneva, Switzerland, on the 21st local time to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. In addition to wooing allies to "unite and resist Russia," Agence France-Presse believes that Blinken's visit is also intended to ease Russia's highly tense relations with the West.
On the 20th local time, Blinken met with the Foreign Ministers of France and Germany and the British Deputy Foreign Minister Picture from the surging image
But to Blinken's embarrassment, shortly before he arrived in Berlin, US President Biden "poured cold water." At a press conference on the 19th local time, Biden bluntly said that there is no agreement on the Ukraine issue within NATO, the attitude of member states depends on Russia's "specific actions", and the United States is "trying to ensure that all countries stand together."
"If Russia 'invades' Ukraine, it will be held accountable, depending on what it does. If it's just a 'small-scale invasion', we (NATO) will have to quarrel over what to do and what not to do. Biden said.
To appease allies and Ukraine, the White House quickly issued a statement "patching" biden. White House spokesman Psaki said russian troops crossing the Ukrainian border would be seen as a "new invasion" and that the United States and its allies would respond "swiftly, harshly and consistently."
But Biden's speech merely revealed an "open secret" that the EU and NATO are not entirely "working together" within. The British "Guardian" commented that NATO obviously has differences on the so-called Russian "invasion" of Ukraine, and France and Germany, the two major EU countries, have their own ideas. On January 19, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed that the EU should not only pursue an independent security policy, but also establish an independent EU policy towards Russia.
Macron said the EU needs to have its own dialogue with Russia, rather than relying on the United States, "We need dialogue, we need to come together in Europe to make our own demands and make sure those demands are respected." We also need to have the ability to do that. He warned that an escalation of the crisis could lead to "the most tragic all-out war" in Europe.
On the question of whether to supply weapons to Ukraine, Germany sang the "opposite tune" with the United States and Britain. Agence France-Presse said that the US government has approved the Baltic states to supply Ukraine with US-made weapons on the 20th, and the United Kingdom has also announced that it will send "defensive weapons" to Ukraine to help the country ensure border security.
But not to send weapons to conflict zones is a long-standing Policy of Germany, and both the SPD and LDP in Germany's ruling coalition adhere to this principle and are reluctant to sell weapons to Ukraine. Robert Habeck, the current German deputy chancellor and economy minister and chairman of the Green Party, said last year that the Greens might oppose the policy, but he quickly abandoned the idea under pressure of public opinion.
On the other hand, the new German government also continued its agreement with the United States, declaring that if Russia "invaded" Ukraine, Germany would stop the Nord Stream 2 project, which would deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany.
The Guardian analysis said that the EU's reluctance to hold a formal meeting in advance to discuss "sanctions against Russia" shows that it wants to avoid disputes between member states over differences. In fact, the differences between EU countries have gone beyond "sanctions" to the broad question of "to what extent the EU should implement an independent policy towards Russia".
Although the differences have not yet been resolved, the EU and the United Kingdom have echoed the "threat" of the United States and have successively issued "warnings" to Russia. British Prime Minister Johnson said in a speech on the 20th that Russia's "invasion" of Ukraine will trigger a "world disaster". European Commission President von der Leyen declared at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum on the 20th that if Ukraine is subjected to "further attacks", the EU will impose "large-scale economic and financial sanctions".
According to the Russian newspaper Izvestia, both Blinken and Lavrov have now arrived in Geneva and are about to meet. Russian sources revealed that since Russia can only start real negotiations on security guarantees after receiving formal replies from the United States and NATO on Russia's security initiatives, the two sides will only discuss security measures at this meeting.
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