The United States and Russia stage their disagreement in the UN Security Council

The crisis in Ukraine has brought with it scenes that were thought to be forgotten. Scenes more typical of that world in dispute between the US and the USSR than of the multipolar order that governs international relations today. Three decades later, Washington and Moscow have taken it upon themselves to evoke the memory of the Cold War and to transfer it to the UN Security Council in the midst of tensions in Eastern Europe.

The 15 members of the UN body witnessed an intense bloc-to-bloc face-off on Monday. Led by Linda Thomas-Greenfield of the US and Russia's Vasily Nebenzia, the delegations engaged in a heated discussion on the crisis on the Ukrainian border, where the Kremlin deployed a 100,000-strong contingent of troops in November, dispelling the apparent mood of de-escalation that has prevailed over the past week.

Thomas-Greenfield, backed by her Western partners, warned at the end of the meeting that Europe is in an "urgent and dangerous" situation caused by Russia, which she accused of threatening international peace and order. Convened extraordinarily at Washington's request, the meeting served as a thermometer to measure the degree of disagreement between Washington and Moscow. And the messages highlighted the many challenges that diplomacy still faces.

The harshest words were uttered by Vasili Nebenzia, who accused the US of inciting the rift. In the face-to-face with his US counterpart, Russia's permanent representative to the UN responded harshly: "You want it [the conflict in Ukraine] to happen. You are waiting for it to happen, as if you want your words to come true". A cross-examination that reveals the importance of winning the battle for the narrative.

While the atmosphere in the UN Security Council was heating up, the Kremlin continued preparations to send a formal response to the White House. Moscow is currently drafting a document with the proposals it wants to see implemented in order to resolve the crisis. Among its objectives are to halt NATO's eastward expansion, a historic demand, and to obtain assurances that the Atlantic alliance will not place missiles in Ukraine.

Senior US State Department officials confirmed Tuesday that they had received the document in statements to CNN. The Kremlin has been quick to deny the news, alleging "confusion" and that the document will not be sent until President Vladimir Putin gives his approval. The Russian leader aims to prevent Ukraine's accession to NATO, a move that would destabilise Europe's security architecture, as well as keep the country under his sphere of influence.

It is unlikely that agendas will align. That is what Antony Blinken and Sergei Lavrov are working on, having once again held a telephone conversation to defuse tensions. The US Secretary of State has once again made it clear that Washington is committed to dialogue, even if Moscow accuses them of generating tensions. And he is not the only one. In the last few hours, several European leaders have spoken with Putin on the issue.

Macron and Putin remain in contact after their first telematic conversation last week. The French president and his Russian counterpart agreed again on the implementation of the Minsk Peace Accords, which reached a ceasefire in the Donbass and laid out the roadmap to end the war, dormant after 8 years.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has also stepped up contacts with Putin. In a phone call reported by the Kremlin, the Russian president guaranteed gas supplies to Italy against the backdrop of the Ukrainian issue and expressed "his satisfaction" with the outcome of his recent meeting with leading Italian businessmen. The former president of the European Central Bank (ECB), who saw his ascension to the Quirinal Palace thwarted, was also congratulated by Putin on Mattarella's re-election.

The latest to make contact with the Kremlin was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Vladimir Putin received him in Moscow to discuss the crisis in Ukraine days after the Hungarian foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, did not guarantee the support of Hungary, a NATO member and EU partner, to Kiev as long as it discriminates against the Magyar minority living in Ukraine.

At the end of the meeting, Orbán assured that he saw an agreement between Moscow and Washington on security matters as possible, despite the strong disagreements, and told Putin that none of the actors involved in the crisis wanted war. At the same press conference, Putin recalled that, according to NATO's article 10, the alliance cannot accept other countries into its ranks without the approval of all its members. A hypothetical scenario in which Hungary's position has been questioned by the West because of the proximity between the Hungarian leader and the Kremlin.

Coordinator America: José Antonio Sierra