Putin: "Our non-negotiable interests, the response to sanctions will be strong and painful"

Russia is ready to find "diplomatic solutions" with Kiev and the West on the Ukrainian crisis: Vladimir Putin said this in the aftermath of the invasion of Donbass by Moscow troops, which violated the Minsk agreements which since 2014 regulate relations between the two states.

"Our country - said the Russian president - is always open to direct and honest dialogue to find diplomatic solutions to the most complex problems. However, the interests and safety of our citizens are not negotiable".

But the diplomatic solution is moving away, US Secretary of State Blinken has canceled the meeting with his Russian counterpart Lavrov ("We are facing the greatest threat to European security since the Second World War," Blinken said), and the same US president said he will not have talks with Putin until there is a de-escalation.

Last night Joe Biden announced a substantial package of sanctions, which also affect the number one of the Russian secret services, and started moving troops to the Baltic countries, "but let's be clear in a defensive way, we don't want to attack Russia, we just want to protect every inch of territory that Russia intends to steal ”.

The American President said he was convinced that Putin's intention is to arrive in Kiev, while Ukrainian President Zelensky is recalling the reservists to the army.

If for Great Britain and the USA the adoption of severe measures was taken for granted, the same cannot be said for Europe, given the economic and energy interests that bind Germany and Italy above all to the Kremlin. In the end, the informal meeting of foreign ministers convened in Paris decided to adopt a package of substantial sanctions but which do not affect Putin himself. But the strongest response comes from Berlin, which until a few hours earlier had preached caution and which instead announced the stop to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

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(Unioneonline / L)