Russia Remains Adamant With Demands, Doesn’t Want Escalation

Moscow – The Russian President has made it clear he doesn’t want to escalate the Ukrainian standoff, but he’s also very adamant about his country’s demands. That was the product of a five-hour meeting French President Emmanuel Macron had with President Vladimir Putin on Monday (Feb. 7). Putin said some of what he and Macron had talked about “could form the basis of further joint steps,” but added that it’s still too early to agree on a deal. The demands from the Kremlin remain the same: Ukraine and other former Soviet states are to remain out of NATO, the West must halt all weapon deployments, and roll back forces in Eastern Europe; all of which have been rejected by the United States and NATO. The news of that broke as Macron met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv on Tuesday (Feb. 8); a meeting Zelenskyy called “fruitful.”  At this current time, around 100,000 Russian troops have been sent to areas near the former Soviet state’s borders. But despite the show of force, Russia insists it has no plans to attack Ukraine.  The movement of thousands of Russian troops from Belarus—which shares a border with Ukraine—also had some international leaders worried. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said troops are in the country for military exercises slated to run between Thursday (Feb. 10) and February 20. On the other side of the Atlantic, the United States announced the mobilization of about 2,000 troops from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the home of the famed 82nd Airborne, and another 1,000 troops from Germany with orders to report in Romania. Around 8,500 troops have also been put on alert. Troops began arriving in Europe on Sunday (Feb. 6) after a handful landed in southeastern Poland. It’s unclear when leaders will come to the bargaining table again. According to a schedule from the Kremlin, Putin is scheduled to meet with Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to discuss Russia-Kazakhstan relations and integration cooperation on “current international problems,” which could include a discussion on Ukraine.