- Germany warned Russia it could halt a major gas pipeline project if Moscow dares to attack Ukraine.
- The US has also warned Russia of dire consequences.
- Germany could halt the multi-billion dollar project, which was completed in September but still needs testing and regulatory approval.
WASHINGTON: The United States and Germany warned Russia on Thursday that a major gas pipeline is at stake if it invades Ukraine, as Washington expressed hopes for a diplomatic way out, despite icy statements from Moscow.
A day after the United States and its allies formally responded to Russia’s security demands, top officials in Moscow said their main concerns had not been allayed, but in particular did not rule out new talks.
The United States has warned Russia of swift and serious consequences if it invades Ukraine after Moscow gathered tens of thousands of troops on the border with its westward-leaning neighbour.
Following concerns in the West about divisions within Europe, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told parliament that her government was “working on a strong package of sanctions” along with allies, including Nord Stream 2.
The pipeline, which Germany has defiantly constructed despite criticism from the United States and Eastern Europeans, will more than double the supply of Russian natural gas to Europe’s largest economy.
In Washington, a top official expressed confidence that an invasion would deter Germany from activating the multi-billion dollar project, which was completed in September but still needs testing and regulatory approval.
“If Russia invades Ukraine, one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not make any progress,” said Victoria Nuland, the secretary of state for political affairs.
“I think the statements coming out of Berlin even today are very, very strong,” she told reporters.
The White House also announced that Germany’s new Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit President Joe Biden on Feb. 7 to discuss Russia’s “aggression against Ukraine.”
Biden also spoke by phone on Thursday with Volodymyr Zelensky, whose government held marathon talks with Russia the day before in Paris in a separate effort to ease tensions.
Zelensky then tweeted that he and Biden discussed de-escalation efforts and joint actions going forward, as well as possible US financial aid to Ukraine after hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid.
NATO has put 8,500 troops on standby during the crisis in Ukraine, in scenes reminiscent of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
– ‘Only one decision maker’ –
Russia has denied plans to invade but last month demanded broad security guarantees from the West, including that Ukraine should never be allowed to join NATO’s US-led military alliance.
Washington issued a response on Wednesday in consultation with NATO allies, saying Ukraine had the right to determine its own allies, but offered Russia talks over missile placement and other mutual concerns.
In its initial response to the response, the Kremlin was unimpressed but cautious.
“It cannot be said that our views have been taken into account,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“Let’s not rush with assessments; it takes time to analyze,” he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow’s main concern – Ukraine’s potential to join NATO – had been ignored, but it would be possible to make progress on other issues.
“There is an answer that gives hope for the beginning of a serious conversation about secondary questions,” Lavrov said.
Nuland joked that the main conclusion of the Russian response was that Putin had the documents.
“There is only one decision-maker in Moscow and that is President Putin,” Nuland said.
“We hope he sees a real opportunity here for a legacy of security and arms control rather than a legacy of war,” she said.
“The ball is in their court.”
– ‘Ukraine in the middle’ –
On the streets of Kiev, there were concerns that Ukraine had been forgotten during high-level talks between Moscow, NATO and Washington.
“The United States provokes Russia and Russia provokes the United States. And somewhere in the middle is Ukraine,” said Dmytro Sylenko, a 23-year-old businessman.
“Frankly, I don’t care who provokes whom, what’s important to me is that there is peace. I don’t care about the rest,” he told AFP.
Russia, which has a fraught historical relationship with Ukraine, has fueled an insurgency in eastern the former Soviet Republic that has killed more than 13,000 people since 2014.
That year, Russia also seized Crimea after the overthrow of a pro-Russian government in Kiev.
In the separate effort to ease tensions, senior Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed to meet again in Berlin in two weeks, after eight hours of talks in Paris on Wednesday.
Zelensky’s office in a statement praised the “constructive nature” of the meeting and the agreement to meet again.
France said after the so-called Normandy Format talks that envoys committed to a fragile July 2020 ceasefire in eastern Ukraine between government forces and pro-Moscow separatists.
To heighten tensions, a 21-year-old Ukrainian National Guard conscript opened fire on a space factory on Thursday, killing five people, although there was no indication of a link to the standoff with Russia.
