- It’s been Washington that revealed blood had been transferred to Russia’s border with Ukraine, sending investors headed for cover, and it’s been Washington which has said that there has been no de-escalation on the Russian side.
- For its part, Moscow has repeatedly said that its troops are on the border for exercises, with ally Belarus, and there remains little appetite among the Ukrainian military’s top brass, which is extremely corrupt, to join NATO.
While it’s undeniable that Moscow has sent some 130,000 troops to essentially encircle Ukraine, much of the rhetoric of an impending attack hasn’t come from the Kremlin, but Washington.
Till date, Moscow has made demands regarding European security and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that diplomatic options are still available, but it’s been Washington that has said the Kremlin remains intent on invading Ukraine.
It’s been Washington that revealed blood had been transferred to Russia’s border with Ukraine, sending investors headed for cover, and it’s been Washington which has said that there has been no de-escalation on the Russian side.
Yet that’s not how a game of global poker works – world powers don’t withdraw their troops until they have their demands met, or at least their grievances heard.
Moscow has said repeatedly that it was prepared to keep talking to the west about its security concerns and said that there was still a “way forward” in negotiations.
That view was met with cynicism from the U.S. State Department, with spokesperson Ned Price responding,
“We have taken note of his (Sergei Lavrov) comments. What we have not taken note of is any indication of de-escalation. We have not seen any tangible, any real sign of de-escalation.”
Moscow has been urging NATO to drop its “open door” policy towards membership, with respect to former Soviet bloc countries, but especially with regards to Ukraine.
Over the past few decades, more former-Soviet bloc countries have joined NATO, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, further isolating Moscow and threatening its various borders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has long held that the biggest mistake former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev made was giving Soviet territories their independence.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S.S.R. became the Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, an attempt to replace the communist bloc with something akin to the Russian empire.
But several former-Soviet territories did not ratify the CIS charter and have moved increasingly further away from Moscow’s sphere of influence, including Georgia, which withdrew after the Russo-Georgian war that was backed by Moscow, and Ukraine.
Washington is in many ways all but egging on Russia to invade Ukraine, without necessarily understanding Moscow’s concerns about how it feels increasingly boxed in by growing NATO membership, especially among former Soviet bloc countries.
For its part, Moscow has repeatedly said that its troops are on the border for exercises, with ally Belarus, and there remains little appetite among the Ukrainian military’s top brass, which is extremely corrupt, to join NATO.
