Presidential visits to Kiev and Moscow continue, now it's Olaf Scholz's turn
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, is travelling to Kiev on Monday and to Moscow tomorrow, due to the "critical" threat of a possible Russian invasion. "My intention in both capitals is to take the opportunity to talk about securing peace," Scholz said. The German leader has decided to go to Kiev and Moscow with the aim of preventing a conflict that could trigger one of the worst crises since the Cold War, as did French President Emanuel Macron last week, although he first visited Russia and then Ukraine.
Last Saturday, US President Joe Biden had an hour-long telephone conversation with Putin, but it was not very favourable according to White House information. In fact, the following day, Washington reaffirmed its warning about Russia and its possible attack at "any time" on Ukraine, which would begin with "significant missile and bombing attacks". In addition, Biden briefed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in another phone call about his conversation with the Russian president. Both leaders, according to US officials, 'agreed on the importance of continuing to pursue diplomacy and deterrence'.
Zelensky has invited Biden to visit Kiev 'in the coming days' in a show of moral support, but the White House has made no mention of such an invitation, yet it is Scholz who has decided to visit Ukraine. Germany remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine, and for imposing sanctions against Russia, should an invasion take place. "In the event of military aggression against Ukraine that threatens its territorial integrity and sovereignty, that will lead to tough sanctions that we have carefully prepared and can put into effect immediately," Scholz said before his trip to Kiev. "We assess the situation as very critical, very dangerous," a German government source added.
The German state, like France, is playing a major role in mediating the separatist conflict in Ukraine, where more than 14,000 people have already died. Germany and Moscow maintain trade relations, and Germany's dependence on natural gas has been a source of concern for Western leaders, most notably Biden. Also, Kiev has shown its annoyance with Berlin's non-alliance with NATO in supplying arms to Ukraine, which will be one of the issues the European leaders will address at their meeting.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will also join this round of presidential visits, but this will take place at the end of the week. At the same time as the presidential meetings are taking place, the various states have begun to withdraw their diplomatic staff from embassies in Kiev, which has affected the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Ukraine, as well as the departure of their citizens from Ukrainian territory, although departures may be affected by the increased cancellation by airlines of flights to Kiev.
Along the Ukraine-Russia border, Putin has deployed more than 100,000 troops, setting off alarm bells throughout the West, particularly in the US and its intelligence community, who believe that during these weeks of crisis talks Russia has been preparing to launch its major offensive.
Ukraine and Russia, as well as NATO members, are in one of the most decisive weeks for ending the conflict diplomatically. Scholz's visit could be seen as an attempt to defuse tensions between the two nations, after the US and its intelligence service claimed that an invasion could take place as early as Wednesday, but Zelensky said on Saturday that "such an imminent attack is not clear and that panic was counterproductive".
