Putin blames US and Ukraine for escalation, but says diplomacy should ‘intensify’

(FILE PHOTOS) This combination of files pictures created on June 7, 2021 shows US President Joe Biden in one of his speaking engagement in Darby, Pennsylvania, on June 17, 2020 and Russian President Vladimir Putin delivering a speech during a meeting with Russian athletes and team members. US President Joe Biden on July 27, 2021 accused his Russian counterpart of seeking to disrupt the 2022 congressional elections by spreading “misinformation.” (Photo by Jim WATSON and Grigory DUKOR / various sources / AFP)

MOSCOW, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Kyiv for the military escalation in east Ukraine in a call with French leader Emmanuel Macron, but said diplomatic efforts to find a resolution needed to intensify.

The call came two weeks after Macron went to Moscow to persuade Putin to refrain from sending troops massed on the border into Ukraine.

‘The supply of weapons and ammunition by US-led NATO countries to Ukraine is pushing Kyiv towards a ‘military solution’ against separatists in the country’s east, the Kremlin said.

“As a result, civilians… who have to evacuate to Russia to escape the intensifying shelling, suffer,” the Kremlin added.

The statement however noted that “the presidents believe it is important to intensify efforts to find solutions through diplomatic means.”

The leaders agreed these efforts should be carried out by foreign ministers from France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine, which make up the Normandy negotiations group.

“Putin reiterated the need for the United States and NATO to take Russian demands for security guarantees seriously,” the Moscow’s readout added.

Russia insists that Western countries should give concrete and point-by-point responses to security guarantees set by Moscow last December to limit the Western military expansion into eastern Europe and ex-Soviet countries.

Moscow argues that the West had violated the promise made by US State Secretary James Baker in the 1990s that NATO “would not move

an inch east.”

US and UK pushing for war again?

International analysts warn the moves of the United States and the United Kingdom in Ukraine, echoing the same scenario that happened to Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan, where fake news proliferated to justify a NATO-led invasion that left millions dead and the countries in warzones.

US and UK top officials including US President Joe Biden predict and warn of imminent threat of invasion, even as Ukraine itself, France, Germany said there was never an imminent invasion.

Ukraine was also initially not including in the negotiation table between the US and Russia, and quietly pursued its own negotiating channels with Moscow.

Demonstrations in Europe are calling out the US for failing to live up to the Ukraine-Minsk agreement, which Macron says offers a “path” to peace. The peace protesters also accused the the US of trying to sow panic in order to destabilize the region and sell more weapons to feed the US military-industrial complex.

Western media have been warning the world of the 100,000 troops mobilized by Russia, but fail to report that these were all in Russia’s side of the border.

Seen as initial steps to de-escalate the tension, Russia reported partially withdrawing her troops from the border after concluding the scheduled military training, but US and NATO claim there is no evidence that Russia has done so.

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