Washington wants the Ukraine summit, and Moscow is happy

Since January and the arrival of the new American president to power, relations between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated rapidly. Thus, the Russian ambassador was summoned after Joe Biden judged his counterpart that A. the killer.

Russia also received new sanctions, was reprimanded and the country’s main opponent, Alexei Navalny, was imprisoned and caught red-handed, according to Washington, with several piracy operations.

Moscow then deployed a fleet of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers to the Ukrainian border, accusing Kiev of intentions that could justify the invasion.

In a phone interview on Wednesday, President Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to demand that Moscow reduce its forces on the Ukrainian border.

The two leaders agree on Russia’s question Reduced recent troop reinforcements On the eastern border of Ukraine, in order to allow Calm down A spokesman for Angela Merkel said about the situation.

In this context, Joe Biden’s proposal for a two-way summit in a neutral city is a diplomatic surprise that seems so pleased with Moscow, with Washington being the first to make the gesture.

If the Kremlin does not immediately accept the proposal that Biden made during a telephone interview Tuesday evening with Mr. Putin, the Russian president may speak that same evening with his Finnish counterpart, Sulli Niinistö, whose country hosted the last meeting at this level in 2018, between Mr. Putin and Donald Trump.

Diplomats on orders from the Kremlin

In any case, the Russian diplomat soon made it clear that it was awaiting his orders.

It is the prerogative of the Presidential Administration, but of course we will do our part.Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

Russian officials also praised the significance of the event.

Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council (Supreme Council), Konstantin Kosachev, considered this summit to be a summit World news And that Biden has shown that he wants That this meeting take place quickly.

For the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the State Duma, the United States has It takes a step from confrontation to dialogue. It is good that the leaders of the two largest nuclear powers are willing to cooperateLeonid Slutsky confirmed.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, compared the importance of the Biden-Putin summit to its significance, in the midst of the Cold War, with Ronald Reagan, which resulted in a nuclear disarmament treaty.

So the Russian political scientist Fyodor Lukyanov points out Russia will present the prospects for this meeting as an important success.

In a way, this is the case, while until recently Biden spoke insulting Putin., He said.

Indeed, he thinks, the heat He fell. He says he expects the military pressure on Ukraine’s borders to decrease soon, because no one is No interest in military clashes.

Turkish officials said, on Wednesday evening, that the United States abandoned the deployment of two warships this week in the Black Sea, via the Turkish strait.

The deployment announcement came amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and the decision to send warships was hailed as a sign of Washington’s support for Kiev.

Biden criticized

On the other hand, the news of organizing the summit leaves some Russian opposition figures frustrated. They see this as a concession to Putin and his pursuit of recognition.

summit? What does the United States still have to talk about with Putin? This is exactly what Putin wants, a face-to-face meeting that would legitimize himOn Twitter, he lost to former world chess champion and Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov.

Supporters of the Russian president rejoiced for exactly the same reasons.

It was Biden who requested the phone conversation yesterday, and it was Biden who called, and it was Biden who wanted to discuss a summit., Notes, more than a little ironically, Vladimir Soloviev, a propagandist for the authorities and a hated figure of the opposition.