By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL- On Monday, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will discuss in an open meeting of all member states, the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Just last week, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian presidents Putin and Zelensky along with a number of high-level diplomats from France and Germany in an attempt to reduce tensions ever since Putin positioned 120,000 troops on Ukraine’s border and more troops in Belarus, a short distance from Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv. The U.S: who requested the open meeting, views it as an opportunity for Russia to explain its position regarding the multitude of troops on the border. While nine votes are needed from Security Council members to proceed with the open meeting – Blinken said he is confident the meeting will move forward.
In the meantime, U.S. senators are very close to agreeing on sanctions legislation for Russia. It’s expected that sanctions will include targeting the most important Russian banks as well as Russian sovereign debt while also offering more advanced military assistance to Ukraine. Democratic Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez said that some sanctions may take effect prior to an invasion simply because of the massive troop buildup on Ukraine’s border. Menendez also highlighted internal Russian aggression that includes cyberattacks on Ukraine, false flag operations and efforts to undermine the Ukrainian government from within. The UK is also working on sanctions for Russia as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told BBC television: “Nothing is off the table.” Truss also told Sky News that the sanctions Britain is planning will hit a wider range of targets. Truss is scheduled to visit Ukraine and Russia in the next weeks in a further bid for diplomacy. When asked about the difficulty in sanctioning Russian money due to close ties between Russia and the ruling Conservative Party in Britain, Truss explained: “There’s a real threat here to freedom and democracy in Europe. And that is more important than short-term economic gains, both for the United Kingdom but also for our European allies.”
Meanwhile, Russia is set to assume the Council’s rotating presidency for February. On the back of that, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are scheduled to speak by phone on Tuesday. Despite the flurry of diplomacy in multiple meetings, Russia is still accusing the U.S. of creating provocations over Ukraine while it was reported that Ukrainian President Zelensky had requested the U.S. rachet down its rhetoric toward Russia. The Biden administration is reportedly preparing heavy sanctions for Russia should Putin make any move to invade Ukraine. Some analysts do not see an invasion as a foregone conclusion while Biden previously told Zelensky his prediction is that Russia will likely invade Ukraine in February. UN Director at the think-tank, Crisis Group, Richard Gowan said: “I fear this will be just one more crisis like the Ethiopian war and the Burmese coup, that shows what little clout the UN carries in the real world.”
