Trevor Hunnicutt, Tom Balmforth

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Presidents Joe Biden (Russia) and Vladimir Putin (USA), will attempt to heal their differences by holding a virtual meeting. This was in the shadows of what the United States considers a Russian invasion.

The Kremlin called relations “a lamentable state” before the video conference call. It expects that the call will begin around 15:00 GMT/10 AM. ET.

Washington accused Russia that it has deployed troops to the Ukrainian border to infuriate an aspiring NATO member. It could also be a repetition of Moscow’s 2014 strategy, where it took the Black Sea peninsula from Crimea. The West will impose tough sanctions on Russia if it invades, the West says.

According to the Kremlin, fear-mongering is not what it means by denying that their forces could invade. Instead, its troops are moving around its territory for defensive purposes.

Moscow sees the NATO’s growing embrace of an ex-Soviet republic as a red line. It is not willing to allow the possibility of missiles being launched at Ukraine from its former Soviet Union.

Putin demanded legal binding security guarantees from NATO that it will not extend further east nor place weapons near Russian territory. Washington repeatedly stated that no country could veto Ukraine’s NATO ambitions.

Biden stated that he would not accept any red line from anyone on Friday.

Andrey Kortunov is the head of Russian International Affairs Council, which is closely connected to the Foreign Ministry. He said that their positions are unlikely to be reconciled.

“The only thing they can probably agree on – if it turns out to be a good conversation – is that everybody directly or indirectly engaged there in the situation should demonstrate restraint and commitment to de-escalate. Otherwise, I don’t see how Biden could promise Putin that NATO won’t go east.

The spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council stated that Washington sought to avoid a crisis in its wider relationship and create a spiral of negative events through diplomacy, de-escalation and mediation.

Analysts from Russia and America have speculated that they could reach an agreement to hold de-escalation discussions. However, the Kremlin insists it would like a new Putin-Biden summit next January.

Although U.S. officials repeatedly stated that they don’t know Putin’s intentions toward Ukraine, a Biden administration official said to Reuters that the United States considered a military offensive in early 2022, which would involve 175,000 soldiers, armoured units, and artillery.

A U.S. official stated that the U.S. believed half of the Russian units had already crossed the Ukrainian border.

SAVING FACE

Last week, the United States offered to mediate with Russia and Ukraine in order to end the war that has raged for seven years between Ukrainian government forces (and Russian-backed separatists) on the foundation of the Minsk Agreements of 2014 and 2015.

Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, stated that Moscow does not object to this principle.

Vladimir Frolov is a Russian foreign policy analyst who was a former diplomat to the United States. He said that Washington would be seen as a defeat and that he wouldn’t allow Russia into this process. He was not confident Putin would accept a vague promise to discuss the future European security architecture.

Frolov stated that Moscow had reduced the space for maneuver for diplomacy by requesting legally binding guarantees. This tells us they don’t really believe diplomacy will succeed.

As Ukraine marked the national army day Monday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that Ukraine’s military forces are capable of resisting any Russian attack. He also spoke in Kyiv.

“NO MORE STRENGTH”

Interviews with people in the capital of Ukraine revealed mixed views about Tuesday’s talks.

Biden, we believe, is a friend to our country. He has shown himself to be someone who wants to see Ukraine through this horrible situation,” Volodymyr Pilypyuk (71) said.

Ruslan, a bartender aged 28, saw no chance for a breakthrough. His words were: “We do not have anybody to count upon but our own forces. First of all, we need to be ourselves.”

Vladimir Bulatov, a 61-year-old Russian diplomat, said to Reuters Moscow that the leaders needed to talk about reducing the danger of a “hot conflict”, though he doubted it would happen. “I doubt that anything sensible will be achieved from this meeting,” Bulatov said.

Elena, a retired woman interviewed in conflict-ridden eastern Ukraine said that she was counting on a halt the shelling.

She stated, “Things need to change. This is what we hope for.” We don’t have the strength anymore to survive this.”