Russia claims that a diplomatic solution to its looming invasion of Ukraine and rising conflict with the West is still conceivable.
Despite amassing 130,000 troops near Ukraine’s border and US warnings of an invasion on Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated diplomatic negotiations had not yet been exhausted in a televised conference on Monday night, February 14.
The remarks came after numerous countries advised their nationals to flee Ukraine, and the United States warned that aircraft bombardments may start “at any time.”
Ukraine, a former Soviet republic with extensive social and cultural links to Russia, cannot join Nato, according to the Kremlin, which has requested that this be ruled out. This has been rejected by Nato members.
Putin questioned his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a socially detached TV appearance on Monday if there was a chance to reach an agreement with the West, or if the diplomacy was “an attempt to drag us into an interminable negotiating process?”
“The options are far from being exhausted,” Lavrov responded, “and while they should not be continued permanently, I would propose continuing and stepping them up.”
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu also told Putin at the Kremlin meeting that some of the country’s military training near Ukraine’s border had already completed and others were nearing completion.
Russia and Belarus, Ukraine’s northern neighbor, are conducting large joint drills. In the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, to the south of Ukraine, Moscow is also holding Navy firing drills.
On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree designating February 16th as National Unity Day. The date has been proposed by US officials as the earliest possible date for a Russian attack.
The US has now announced that eight more F-15 fighter jets have been dispatched to Poland to participate in Nato air patrols. This comes after the United States dispatched an additional 3,000 troops to Poland to strengthen Nato’s military presence in the region.