In light of military build-up and exchange of diplomats expelled from Russia with Ukraine, Macron calls for “red lines” to be established with Moscow

French President Emmanuel Macron called for “the establishment of clear red lines with Russia”. This came in response to a question about the possibility of taking action against Moscow should its forces invade Ukrainian territory, at a time when Russia is massing more and more forces at the borders and trading the expulsion of diplomats. with Kiev.

In an interview with CBS, excerpts from which aired on Saturday and aired in full on Sunday, Macron said the sanctions are not enough and must be accompanied by what he described as a frank, transparent and open dialogue with Moscow, stressing that Russia must be clear in this regard. Read also The task of the difficult balance in the crisis of Russia and Ukraine. How is Turkey using Bayraktar to its advantage? Prospects of border escalation and whether it threatens full-scale war … 8 questions explain the crisis between Russia and Ukraine Saint Vladimir: How Putin did He Designed His Religious Revolution To Destroy The West Foreign Policy: Is Russia Preparing For War In Ukraine?

The French president expressed his country’s willingness to impose sanctions on Russia if it showed what he described as unacceptable behavior, noting that sanctions were “the only way to be credible”.

On Friday, Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed their support for Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky, calling on Russia to withdraw its forces from the borders and work quickly to “reduce tensions”.

Last Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced the imposition of a series of strict financial sanctions on Russia, in addition to the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats, at the same time he proposed to hold a summit with the Russian president. Washington also imposed sanctions on 8 people and entities linked to the

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Diplomatic tension

Ukraine decided to expel a Russian diplomat on Saturday in response to an earlier decision by Moscow to expel Alexander Susunyuk, the Ukrainian consul in St. Petersburg, after accusing him of obtaining classified information from a Russian citizen.

In a statement, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it had been decided to expel a prominent Russian diplomat, whose identity was not disclosed, as part of reciprocity after Moscow expelled the consul Ukrainian from the second largest Russian city. The country within 72 hours, starting April 19.

Kiev has rejected accusations made by Moscow against its consul in St. Petersburg, denying any connection with the collection of classified information on the security services in Russia, and the statement by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned the decision to detain the consul for a few hours before his release, accusing Russia of having violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations signed in 1961.

Russian security authorities said earlier on Saturday that the Ukrainian consul was caught “in the act of a meeting with a Russian citizen as he sought to obtain classified information linked to a database of the forces of the United Nations. ‘Russian order’. Publicity

Since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014 and the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Russia has arrested large numbers of Ukrainian citizens, accusing them of spying. But I rarely stopped diplomatically.

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Military accumulation

The exchange of diplomatic expulsions between Kiev and Moscow coincides with strained relations between the two sides, after Russia deployed tens of thousands of troops to the Ukrainian border to conduct military exercises in the face of movements that constitute a “Threat” from NATO, which Kiev seeks to join.

For its part, Ukraine said it feared a Russian invasion, and called on the West to support it, while Moscow denied moving its forces to conduct maneuvers near the border with Ukraine was a threat to the security of the latter, calling Kiev. to stop carrying out provocative actions.

Relations between Ukraine and Russia have been strained since pro-Western forces came to power in Kiev since 2014, followed by Moscow’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula and a war between the forces of Kiev and pro-Russian separatists in the east, killing more than 13,000 people. .

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 Clashes in the East

On the ground, the Ukrainian army said it had detected 16 ceasefire violations in the Donbass region (in the east of the country); But without causing any casualties, the Ukrainian army added that pro-Russian separatists had fired at its defensive sites. He explained that he had submitted a report on these attacks to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the party responsible for monitoring the ceasefire.

For their part, the separatist authorities in Donetsk province (south-eastern Ukraine) said the Ukrainian army had bombed the region 13 times in the past 24 hours. Separatist authorities on Friday called for an emergency session of the Contact Group on the Settlement of the Conflict in Southeastern Ukraine.

In a related context, two Russian warships crossed the Bosphorus Strait on Saturday towards the Black Sea, where 15 other small ships arrived, as part of Moscow’s strengthening of its maritime presence at a time when its relations with the West and Ukraine are increasingly tense.

Moscow announced on Friday that it would close some areas of the Black Sea near the border with Ukraine as part of procedures for holding naval exercises, which has been condemned by Kiev, Washington and NATO.