The talks between the presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, will give the parties a respite in the situation around Ukraine and Russia. This opinion was expressed to RIA Novosti by Ivan Timofeev, Program Director of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).
According to him, “there’s nothing special to“ de-escalate ”around Ukraine, since there was no crisis as such”.
Earlier, Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said that the United States believes that Russia is ready to attack Ukraine with half of all ground forces. According to her, Moscow plans to involve “about 100 battalion tactical groups, or practically all combat-ready ground troops west of the Urals,” in the military operation.
The Kremlin rejects such claims. In particular, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov called the reports of an allegedly impending invasion an information campaign, the purpose of which is to present Moscow as a threat to the settlement process in Ukraine.
