La Crimea must be recognized as a Russian region and the breakaway republics as independent sovereign states. It is as much as the Russia responds to Ukraine, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the willingness expressed yesterday by Ukrainian President Zelensky to discuss the status of these internationally recognized regions as part of Ukraine. “Our position is well known. Crimea is a Russian region and must be recognized as such,” Peskov said quoted by Tass. And what about the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, he added, “they are independent and sovereign states, recognized as such by the Russian Federation” and that Kiev should recognize them as such. Meanwhile, China begins to take a stand and unloads all the blame for the conflict on the United States and NATO.
Russia responds to Ukraine: but Mariupol?
On the eve of the direct face-to-face between the two enemy foreign ministers, the Russian Sergei Lavrov andUkrainian Dmytro Kuleba in Antalya - the first high-profile since the beginning of the war - Moscow says it is open to holding talks with Ukraine "as soon as possible" but that this depends on Kiev's will. And that you don't want to “overthrow the government” of Ukraine. These are the words of Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Minister, who also underlined that there has been "progress" in the negotiations with Ukraine. The goal, according to Zakharova, is to "put an end to the senseless bloodshed and the resistance of the Ukrainian armed forces as soon as possible".
If Ukraine told itself open to discuss on his neutral status, as requested by Russia, it is also true that it will not cede an "inch" of its territory. This was stated by Ihor Zhovkva, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office and Zelensky's adviser on foreign policy. But the question is much more complicated and cannot be separated from an analysis of the territory, of the importance of Donbass for Russians and Ukrainians. Because if it is true that the Donets basin wants to go back, infected by the fever of independence of the Crimea, so is the "thorny" position of Mariupol, the obligatory transit point of the Russians for the Crimea and the friendly republics.
Mayor of Kiev: "If surrounded, we can only hold out for a week or two"
Kiev can only hold out for "a week" if Moscow's forces surround it. This was stated by the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitalii Klitschko. In an interview with Sky Tg24, the mayor explained that the Russian forces are very close to the city centre, just 10km away. "We are ready to defend our capital", added Klitschko, and then reiterated the call to the West to supply Ukraine with weapons: "We need jets now, help us". But here it is the US that admits that it cannot take such a choice lightly.
China's about-face: "All the fault of the US and NATO"
As Russia responds to Ukraine, China starts talking. But instead of explicitly condemning the Russian invasion, he points the finger at the West. If the world was waiting for a position taken by the Dragon, he hoped it would be in terms of "international mediation" and not a unilateral condemnation of the USA and NATO, as if the Russian invasion of Ukraine were an insignificant detail.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijiang, responded to the recent reconstructions of the New York Times relating to Beijing's knowledge of Russian plans for the invasion of Ukraine, based on the words of American officials. the Chinese government has not only (obviously) denied the news without convincing anyone but has unloaded all the blame on the Alliance.
“Lately, the United States has been spreading disinformation about China on the Ukraine issue, in an attempt to shift blame, fuel confrontation, and profit from the issue. The origins of the conflict, according to the Chinese spokesman, should be sought in the "actions of NATO led by the United States" which "have gradually led to the Russia-Ukraine conflict".
Washington is also apparently looking for room for maneuver with the intention of "suppressing China and Russia" in order to "maintain its hegemony" over the world. Then the tone becomes more scathing when he urges the US counterpart to "take China seriously" to avoid "undermining its rights or interests in managing the situation in Ukraine and ties with Russia". Ineffable Chinese.
