Moscow, 13 March 2022 (TDI): Russian President, Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Olaf Scholz, the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Emmanuel Macron, the President of the French Republic.
Putin’s Response to Humanitarian Issues
In the telephonic conversation, Vladimir Putin depicted the actual situation on the ground regarding the territory of the military operation. He also responded to the humanitarian issues raised by the German and French leaders to protect Donbas. Putin cited some instances of gross violation of the International Humanitarian Law by the Ukrainian police and army.
Violations on Humanitarian Grounds
Those violations that the Russian President mentioned in his conversation were extrajudicial killings of dissenters, hostage-taking, and using the civilians as human shields.
He also mentioned the deployment of heavy weaponry in residential areas, near the hospitals, schools, kindergartens, etc. by Ukrainian officials.
Likewise, he mentioned the nationalist battalions trying to sabotage the rescue operations and intimidating the civilians while they try to evacuate. The Kremlin President appealed to German and French Leaders to influence the Kyiv authorities to remedy the situation.
The issues regarding the implementation of the previous Russian demands were also discussed. The leaders of the three countries agreed to discuss the Ukrainian issues in the future as well.
🇷🇺 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 📞 Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with @OlafScholz and @EmmanuelMacron
👉 The Russian leader cited multiple facts of gross violations of the international humanitarian law by the Ukrainian army and police.
🔗 https://t.co/gul62ZtoAe pic.twitter.com/M22U22AaX0
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) March 12, 2022
Russia Ukraine Crisis: An Overview
Ukraine and Russia have captured the entire world’s attention since 24th February. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine at the behest of its Security Council that convened a day before.
Prior to this, a day before, Russia also recognized the Republics of the Luhansk and Donetsk, much to the West’s chagrin. The Donetsk and Luhansk are a part of the Donbas region that is pro-Russia territory.
Recently, Western countries had been alleging Russia about troops’ deployment on the border of Ukraine. However, Russia had been denying the allegations by claiming that it had no intention to invade Ukraine.
One of the main issues of contention between Russia and the EU/US is NATO’s beefed-up defenses in northeastern Europe and Ukraine’s intent to join NATO. Russian and Western counterparts held a series of negotiations to avert escalation. Though, that indelibly failed.
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s stance regarding Ukraine is a matter of principle. In this context, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that if attempts to come to terms on mutually acceptable principles fail, Russia will adopt an appropriate response.
Contrarily, the Ukrainian authorities had been alerting the world about a possible invasion. Throughout 2021 and 2022, Russia and the West engaged in a diplomatic tussle related to Ukraine.
Likewise, the West kept accusing Russia of a military buildup on the border of Ukraine. Whilst Russia kept objecting to NATO’s expansionist agenda that is considered a threat to its strategic security.
Consequently, tensions escalated between the two countries and led to strained bilateral relations. Moreover, despite the United States and EU sending strong messages to warn Russia, the threat of economic isolation couldn’t deter Russia to compromise on what it considers its national interest.
