Three templates are in play involving recognition of Donbas separatist regions, gas flows to Europe and internal Ukrainian politics
by MK Bhadrakumar January 30, 2022
„The formal US response to Russia’s demands for a security guarantee was delivered to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow on Wednesday. Moscow’s worst fears came true: Washington simply ducked the question without addressing the main Russian concerns – NATO’s expansion, rollback of NATO deployments to the pre-1997 level, etc – and instead offered to discuss confidence-building measures (CBMs).
Nonetheless, Moscow will only take the dialogue route, as it is in Russian interests not to appear obdurate, although if experience is any guide, CBMs with the US last only until it abandons them.
President Vladimir Putin, in his annual address to the Russian parliament last April, had clearly drawn the “red lines” that much as Moscow wants good relations with other countries and “really [doesn’t] want to burn bridges … if someone mistakes our good intentions for indifference or weakness and intends to burn down or even blow up these bridges, they should know that Russia’s response will be asymmetrical, swift and harsh.” “ (…)
