Moscow: Russia said on Tuesday that some troops taking part in military exercises will start returning to their military bases. Although Russia has not given details of the withdrawal, it has raised hopes that Russia may not have plans to attack Ukraine.
The announcement came after the Russian foreign minister’s statement indicated that his country was ready to continue talks on the security issues that led to the Ukraine crisis. The change in Russia’s stance came weeks after tensions erupted. However, Western officials continue to warn that Russia could attack Ukraine at any moment and is moving military equipment to the border. It is also not clear where the Russian Defense Ministry has talked about withdrawing the troops, where they are stationed, and how many soldiers are there.
After this announcement, there has been a jump in the price of the Russian currency ruble, including the world market. However, the leaders of Ukraine are expressing doubts about this announcement of Russia. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said, “Russia is constantly making a variety of statements. That is why we have made a rule that we will not believe what we have heard. We will believe after seeing.”
Russia has deployed more than 130,000 troops to the Ukrainian border, raising fears of an attack. Although Russia has denied any intention to attack Ukraine, it has also been conducting large maneuvers nearby, deploying large numbers of troops to Ukraine’s east, north, and south. With a new ray of hope, there has been a flurry of diplomatic developments.
German Chancellor Olaf Schultz plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow a day after holding talks with Ukraine’s leaders in Kyiv. Meanwhile, the foreign minister of Poland, one of Russia’s harshest European critics, was also in Moscow on Tuesday to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The Foreign Minister of Ukraine hosted the talks by his Italian counterpart. In fact, Moscow wants a guarantee that NATO will not make Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union its members. It also wants NATO member states to halt the deployment of weapons to Ukraine and withdraw their troops from Western Europe.
Putin said Western countries could implicate Russia in “endless talks”. Putin questioned whether there was still an opportunity to reach an agreement. Lavrov said his ministry would not allow the US and its allies to bypass Russia’s main requests. On the other hand, Carine Jean-Pierre, the White House’s principal deputy press secretary, said, “If Russia chooses to negotiate positively, the path of diplomacy will be available.”
