Europe needs to take a more balanced approach to the issue of Russian security guarantees, and should stop "gloating" over an alleged Russian invasion in Ukraine, Jerome Riviere, a European Parliament member and vice president of Eric Zemmour's party in France, told Sputnik
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2022) Europe needs to take a more balanced approach to the issue of Russian security guarantees, and should stop "gloating" over an alleged Russian invasion in Ukraine, Jerome Riviere, a European Parliament member and vice president of Eric Zemmour's party in France, told Sputnik.
"President Putin has been presenting Russia's plan to review security in Europe, asking for negotiations, for months now and restating Russia's refusal to see Ukraine join NATO. This needs to be negotiated with the West and we must stop gloating over an imaginary threat of 'Russian invasion'," Riviere said.
Moreover, the lawmaker believes there has never been any escalation of tensions on the Russian side to begin with, given that the exercises were announced beforehand and ended as planned.
"There is no de-escalation by Russia in the Ukraine affair, because there was never any escalation. The Russian manoeuvres in Belarus and Crimea had been announced, they took place and - as expected - they end this week. Russia shows its troops returning to their barracks. There should be nothing more to add. The good news is that the Russians do what they say and there should be no surprises," he noted.
However, despite clear signals from Moscow that it has no plans to attack its neighbor and would prefer a diplomatic approach, Washington and its allies cannot easily change their rhetoric after their "hysterical declarations" of the last few weeks, Riviere said. Especially given that they went as far as to give the date of the "inevitable" Russian attack, he added.
So it is not surprising that US President Joe Biden claims that the Russians might not be acting in good faith, the expert said. Biden also needs to create an appearance of unity within NATO ahead of the US midterm elections in November, to which Europe responds with "submission," according to Riviere.
"French Foreign Minister (Jean-Yves) Le Drian is making high-sounding statements about this so-called crisis, avoided thanks to the strong position of the Western Allies. Everyone is congratulating themselves within NATO; according to them, firmness has paid off. It's ridiculous," the lawmaker said.
Riviere stressed that within NATO, European countries are allies of the United States, not its vassals. For France, it would be more beneficial to withdraw from NATO's integrated command and adopt a more balanced position, "equidistant from the major powers," the politician said.
"Russian demands must be taken into account. We have to find the path of discussion. Russia is no exception and has its domestic politics as well; the Duma has asked the Moscow government to officially recognize the two breakaway Russian-speaking republics of Lugansk and Donetsk. It is not desirable now but France and Germany must ensure that Ukraine fulfills the Minsk agreements, finally," he said.
Ukraine and the West have been accusing Russia of a military build-up along the Ukrainian border in alleged preparation for invasion. Moscow has repeatedly rejected these accusations, accusing NATO and the US of moving closer to the Russian borders, and initiated talks with the West on security guarantees. On Tuesday, Russia began withdrawing some forces away from the border with Ukraine and from Crimea after they completed planned drills in the area.
Petr Bystron, a member of the AfD in the German Bundestag, welcomed the withdrawal of Russian troops after the completion of the drills as a "sign of relaxation," which contradicts the aggressive rhetoric of the West.
"This peace gesture by the Russian leadership shows that the threat of war and an allegedly imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine do not correspond to reality. While Washington was raving about the approaching bombing of Kiev, both Russian and Ukrainian government officials reiterated that they saw no danger of war. NATO would do well to recognize this clear signal from Russia and now send signals of de-escalation itself," the German lawmaker said in a statement.
