The United States shows unity with Europe in the face of the Ukraine crisis
The meeting between Borrell and Blinken tried to show unity of the alliance between Europe and the West in the face of the conflict with Ukraine
The Secretary of the United States, Antony Blinken, this Monday denied that the American acts are loaded with "alarmism" in his constant warnings about the possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The American diplomat stressed it in a press conference after the meeting with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs of the European Union, Josep Borrell.
Both ensured to transmit a message of unity of the transatlantic allies in the face of Russia's hostility in Eastern Europe, and the tension in the conflict in Ukrainian territory.
Borrel assured that the determination to give a united response to Russian threats is his best weapon. In recent weeks, the United States has raised its tone regarding the possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Joe Biden government has offered an analysis by US intelligence on the deployment of Russian soldiers outside the Ukrainian border. They are 140,000 soldiers according to the latest information.
Blinken assured that due to the number of soldiers, the imminence of an attack and Russian capabilities are not "alarmism" it is reality. In addition, he explained that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is not recent, referring to the 2014 conflict where Russia took Crimea.
times of danger
Blinken has insisted that the United States believes that Putin has not yet made a decision to attack, but has created the military capacity to do so quickly if necessary.
Josep Borrell made the same emphasis as Blinken, sharing the concern of the risk that the accumulation of soldiers on the Ukrainian border implies for Europe and the world. In addition, Borrell cataloged the conflict as the most dangerous since the cold war.
The European diplomat added that it is incongruous for Russia to speak of the independence of Ukraine when they accumulate 140,000 soldiers on its borders. Last year, Putin issued a statement celebrating the "historic unity" between Ukraine and Russia.
Dependence on Russian gas
Blinken assured that no matter what Russia's decision was, they would face Europe and the United States, in complete alliance and coordination.
The central point of the meeting between Blinken and Borrell was the European dependence on Russian gas, so the diplomats raised the protection of Europe's energy supply against possible conflicts.
Borrel assured that Russia would not hesitate to use the supply of gas to Europe as a weapon of geopolitical control, for which he pointed out that coordination between the allies is very necessary.
The diplomats announced that they will continue all efforts to find diplomatic solutions to the conflict, but stressed that the consequences will be massive, in the form of sanctions against Russia, if an attack on Ukraine is carried out.
Borrell concluded by noting that they maintain hopes of a diplomatic solution, but they are preparing for the worst scenario.
Warnings from Joe Biden
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, announced that it would be a smart decision for Americans who are in Ukraine to leave the territory due to the risk of a possible war.
Biden announced from the White House on Monday that if Putin were to invade Ukraine, the planned Russian gas pipeline in Germany would be shut down, depriving Russia of a significant source of revenue.
The US president declared in a press conference together with German Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz, who assured that his country was not permissive in its warnings to Putin.
Scholz assured that there would be joint sanctions if Russia attacks Ukraine again as in 2014, assuring that the alliance is one voice. He made it clear that if an invasion of Ukraine were to take place there would be big consequences for the allies.
Biden and Scholz met for the first time in the Oval Office of the White House.
A few hours before the visit, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht stated that Germany will increase the number of soldiers in Lithuania with an additional 350 troops.
Lambrecht, from a military training camp in Münster, assured that this decision is to show strength with NATO. Currently 500 German soldiers are in Lithuania, a country bordering Belarus and a member of NATO since 2004.
A week ago, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, would have authorized the mobilization of 3,000 US military personnel to Germany, Romania and Poland.
Emily Haber, German ambassador to the United States, issued a confidential statement to Berlin saying that her country is considered an unreliable ally.
German media claim that this is due to the German refusal to send war weapons to Ukraine, as the rest of NATO allies have done.
Currently the only contribution from Germany to Ukraine has been 5,000 military helmets, something that has caused discomfort in the United States.
US military support for Ukraine will cost around $650 million in less than a year, in addition to sending infrared homing missiles.
Washington's main objective is for Germany to make a commitment that, if Russia invades Ukraine, it will continue with the cancellation of the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline, which has been completed since September.
The gas pipeline has its operations paralyzed because the European commission is studying compliance with the Brussels regulations.
The Nordstream 2 gas pipeline has a capacity of 55,000 million cubic meters of gas over there, and is a project of the Russian company Gazprom supported by Russia and Germany.