Russian President Vladimir Putin said after meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Schultz that his country was ready for talks with the US and Western countries. Shortly before the meeting, the announcement of the withdrawal of some troops from the border of Ukraine.
Schultz arrived in Moscow and met Putin amid fears of a Russian attack on Ukraine. These talks and the atmosphere created before it are showing signs of reducing tension. Just before Putin's meeting with Schultz, Russia announced the withdrawal of some troops from the Ukrainian border.
"Permanent security with Russia, not against Russia"
German Chancellor Olaf Schultz has said after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow that Russia's role in maintaining security in Europe is important. "It is clear to the European people that lasting security lies not against Russia, but with Russia," Schultz said.
In a press conference after meeting with the German Chancellor, Putin said that Russia does not want war. Putin says, "Whether we want it or not? Certainly not. That's exactly why we proposed the process of negotiation."
After the talks, both the leaders addressed the press conference.
The German Chancellor has welcomed the withdrawal of some troops from the Ukrainian border. Along with this, he also said that the options of diplomacy to avoid war are not over yet. "We've heard that some troops have gone back, which is a good sign, we expect more to go back," Schultz said.
"It should be possible to find a solution. No matter how difficult and dire the situation is, I would not say that there is no hope now," Schultz said.
The Russian president has said that his country is ready to negotiate with the US and NATO on limiting missile deployment and on military transparency. This is being considered as another sign in the direction of reducing tension between Western countries and Russia.
Putin said the US and NATO had rejected Russia's demands to keep Ukraine and other former Soviet countries away from NATO, to deploy weapons along the Russian border and to withdraw military cooperation from Eastern European countries. However, the US and NATO are ready to discuss a number of other security-related measures that Russia had previously proposed. Putin says that Russia is ready to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Europe, increase transparency and trust in maneuvers. is ready to negotiate the measures, although he stressed that for this the Western countries will have to consider the main demands of Russia.
withdrawal of troops from the border
Shortly before this, the Russian Defense Ministry announced his partial withdrawal after military exercises. All this has given hope that Russia is not going to attack Ukraine immediately. The Russian army has not given information from where the forces are retreating and in what numbers.
The Russian army has also not given any figures of the deployment of troops. Some pictures have definitely been released in which the tanks can be seen boarding the train. Apart from this, a picture of a commander riding on a tank has also been released who is taking salute from the soldiers and the army band is playing behind. The army did not say where these soldiers were going. It's just been said, "Going back to the place of permanent posting."
These announcements also affected the economic markets and there was an immediate rise. For several weeks, fears of war have affected markets around the world.
A day earlier, Russia's foreign minister indicated that his country wanted to discuss security concerns. President Putin has also said the same thing after meeting with the German Chancellor. Schultz says that among the issues that Russia has suggested, there are many that need to be talked about.
Russia has called the announcement of the withdrawal of forces on Tuesday as evidence that the idea of war was in the minds of Western countries led by America.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova tweeted, "February 15, 2022 will be remembered in history as the time when the propaganda of the Western War failed."
Although Ukraine is still surrounded on three sides. Even if this crisis is over for the time being, the risk remains in the long run.