Russia has made it clear that if the United States does not accept its security proposals, it will have to put a counter-threat system on the agenda.
Eventually, rising tensions and a US-Russian confrontation over Ukraine forced the two presidents to hold a telephone conversation on Friday evening. At the end of the call, although both sides stressed the joy of the conversation, the news from the content of this call indicates that both sides have emphasized their previous positions.
Democrat Joe Biden, who has served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sees himself primarily as a foreign policy expert, but despite this, his policies on the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan have failed, widening the gap between Democrats and Republicans. The issue of foreign policy widened to the point that Republicans ruthlessly attacked his administration, calling the departure a scandal. On the other hand, his popularity among the people has reached its lowest level since the beginning of his presidency.
Although the US military presence in Afghanistan has never been popular with the American people, the untimely flight cannot enrich American public opinion, but it is not just Democratic voters who have a mixed sense of skepticism. In another dimension, Europe’s allies, led by Ukraine, are asking more questions than ever about the extent of Washington’s commitment to its allies.
Kurt Walker, the Trump administration’s special envoy for Ukraine, sees the end of the military presence in Afghanistan as the beginning of a story for the Kremlin. Although the White House formally defends Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Ukrainian officials remain concerned about a compromise between the two major powers.
But on the other hand, Russia is in a better position than its rival. Putin is also trying to pursue his authoritarian domestic policies on the international stage. Putin’s policy of increasing influence over the former Soviet republics is no secret, but it is NATO adventures that have forced Moscow to take more drastic and effective action.
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In any case, it seems that the Russians are primarily concerned with security. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov believes that NATO members are turning Ukraine into a military base. That is why the Russians are looking for a strong guarantee that Ukraine and other breakaway countries of the Soviet Union will not join NATO. It is unclear how long the United States can resist Russia’s security offerings, but Moscow has made it clear that if it does not accept it, it will have to take steps to build a counter-threat system. The deployment of tens of thousands of troops and heavy weapons within 48 kilometers of Ukraine’s borders and the Belarusian Foreign Minister’s remarks about Russia’s readiness to host Russian nuclear missiles are only part of the Kremlin’s promised actions and will certainly not end there.
Russia, on the other hand, supplies 40 percent of the EU’s gas consumption and could plunge its energy crisis and global blackout at any moment by reducing its production and exports. This energy dependence will increase with the completion of the Stream 2 rolling gas transmission line, which will lead the United States to sabotage negotiations with the German government to complete the project.
The United States, on the other hand, has only threatened Russia with repeated unprecedented sanctions in the event of any military action, which is unlikely to have much effect on Moscow’s policies. The West’s fist is practically empty against Russia.
However, it remains to be seen where the fate of the conflict will lead to the continuation of the US-Russia talks, which are likely to take place during the January 13 meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe: Accession of another part of Ukraine to Russia or Putin’s withdrawal from his policies.