EU: There is no need to “adjust” the situation in Ukraine
Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, announced Monday that the bloc will not request the withdrawal of diplomatic families in Ukraine as the United States has done, adding that there is no need to "drastically" the situation while talks with Russia are still ongoing.
"We will not do the same because we do not have specific reasons for that," Borrell said upon his arrival to a meeting of European Union foreign ministers, which included the participation of Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State via video link. He added: "I see no reason to be intimidated as long as the talks are underway."
The United States calls on the families of its diplomats to leave Ukraine
The United States ordered the families of its diplomats in Kiev on Sunday evening to leave Ukraine "because of the continuing threat of Russian military action", calling on Americans to avoid traveling to Russia, while a meeting of European foreign ministers begins in Brussels on Monday, joined by the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken via video
"The security situation, particularly along the Ukrainian border, in the Russian-occupied Crimea and in the Russian-controlled Donetsk, is unpredictable and could deteriorate at any time," the State Department said in a statement. The ministry called on the families of US diplomats in Ukraine to leave the country.
The State Department said in its statement that local and non-essential employees can leave the embassy in Kiev if they wish. She said US citizens residing in Ukraine should "now consider" leaving the country via commercial flights or other means of transportation.
"We believe that a Russian invasion ... could happen at any moment," a senior US official told the press.
"The United States would not be in a position to evacuate American citizens" in the event of such a scenario, she added.
The official, who asked not to be identified, indicated that the US embassy is still open, pointing out that Chargé d'Affairs, Christina Kvin, "remains in Ukraine."
The US State Department advised citizens not to travel to Ukraine due to the possibility of a Russian attack, the "potential for harassment of American citizens", particularly by Russian police, and the "arbitrary application of domestic laws."
In Kiev, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov announced on Twitter the arrival of 80 tons of weapons "from our friends in the United States". He continued, "This is not over yet."
On Monday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will discuss via video link with the foreign ministers of the European Union meeting in Brussels the "frank talks" he held Friday with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Russia demands written commitments
Blinken agreed to present written "ideas" to Moscow next week, without clarifying whether these points would constitute a line-by-item response to the detailed Russian demands.
Russia demands written commitments not to annex Ukraine and Georgia to NATO, and to withdraw the alliance's forces and weapons from the Eastern European countries that joined it after 1997, especially from Romania and Bulgaria. And Russia's demands are not accepted by the Westerners.
On Friday, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said, "We will always respond to any deterioration in our security environment, in particular by strengthening our collective defense."
fast european response
The current security situation in Ukraine is currently worrying. Moscow asserts that it does not intend to intervene in Ukraine, but it supports separatists loyal to it and has mobilized more than one hundred thousand soldiers and artillery on the border with Ukraine.
"We hope that there will not be an attack. But if it does, we are ready to respond with significant economic and financial sanctions," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Thursday in an intervention at the virtual World Economic Forum in Davos.
EU ministers will reaffirm this position on Monday, according to a draft seen by AFP.
The European Commission has prepared several possibilities that it will present to the ministers meeting on Monday, which will be added to the measures adopted after the response to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
A European source told AFP that reducing gas purchases by 43% of EU supplies and oil purchases by 20% of supplies, which largely finance the Russian budget, are on the table.
"The credibility of our response to Moscow requires avoiding weaknesses ... in the face of the use of migration flows or energy while playing on the price of gas or supplies," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday before the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
A European official stressed that "the ministers will not take any decision on Monday," but "if anything happens, the European response will be very fast. It will be adopted within a few days."
European sanctions will have to be adopted unanimously, but those related to reduced energy purchases are dividing the EU. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is due to travel to Moscow in February to discuss gas supplies to his country. "Within the European Union, sometimes views and interests do not align," a European diplomat said.
"The credibility of our response to Moscow requires avoiding weaknesses ... in the face of the use of migration flows or energy while playing on the price of gas or supplies," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday before the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
A European official stressed that "the ministers will not take any decision on Monday," but "if anything happens, the European response will be very fast. It will be adopted within a few days."
European sanctions will have to be adopted unanimously, but those related to reduced energy purchases are dividing the EU. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is due to travel to Moscow in February to discuss gas supplies to his country. "Within the European Union, sometimes views and interests do not align," a European diplomat said.
Germany withdrew a proposal aimed at isolating Moscow from the global payment system "SWIFT" - the primary tool in global finance that allows banks to circulate money, according to a European diplomatic source, at a time when Berlin refuses to deliver weapons to Kiev.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on Sunday to deal "wisely" with the possibility of sanctions against Russia and the "consequences" of this for Germany.