Is dialogue between Britain and Russia possible?

By Allan Smith

On Monday, December 13 Russian President Vladimir Putin held telephone talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The official statement says that the two leaders discussed Ukraine, NATO expansion to the east and climate agenda.

Just a reminder, the previous telephone conversation between the two leaders took place on October 25.

Putin and Johnson then discussed issues of bilateral relations and preparations for the November climate summit in Glasgow.

During the current conversation, they also touched on the climate agenda. They expressed satisfaction with results of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Glasgow.

In particular, Boris Johnson highlighted the Russian side's contribution to the work of this conference, as well as meetings on forestry management and land use.

In turn, Vladimir Putin drew Boris Johnson's attention to the discrimination of Russian-speaking people in Ukraine, and the danger of NATO's advance to the east.

Touching upon this, the Russian leader spoke about Kiev's destructive line to disrupt the Minsk agreements and urged immediate arrangements to avert NATO expansion.

It's not by any chance that the British PM was made aware of Russia's position on Ukraine.

Boris Johnson, like other Western leaders accuse Moscow of escalating tensions at the Russian-Ukrainian border. In particular, officially London has repeatedly stated that Russia is allegedly carrying out large-scale troop transfer right at the border with Ukraine.

In this regard, Putin outlined Moscow's ultimate assessments of the situation involving Ukraine, cited specific examples of Kiev's destructive line to disrupt the Minsk agreements and pointed out that the Ukrainian authorities are purposefully aggravating the contact line situation, using heavy weapons and attack drones in the conflict zone, although prohibited by the Minsk Package of Measures.

At the same time, Vladimir Putin emphasised that all this is happening amid the active military "exploration" of Ukraine's territory by NATO, something that poses a direct threat to Russia’s security.

 Putin also pointed to the need of immediately beginning talks in order to develop clear international legal agreements that can preclude NATO’s further eastward advance and the deployment of weapons that pose a threat to Russia in neighboring states, primarily Ukraine.

If we follow the Kremlin's official message, Moscow is ready to provide draft documents on the issue. The matter now depends upon responses by the West and official Kiev.

However, the Russian side seems unlikely to see a constructive response to its proposals, as testified to by the Ukrainian authorities' constant disregard of Moscow's statements that they fail to comply with the Minsk agreements and delay conflict settlement negotiations, as well as Russia's calls for Kiev to start a direct dialogue with the DPR and LPR.

 For instance, the Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly noted that Kiev has sent half of the entire personnel of the country's armed forces to Donbass.

However, despite Moscow's concern about the transfer of NATO military equipment to the Russian borders and increased numbers of Western instructors in Donbass, Western countries, including the UK, keep providing military support to Ukraine, including supplies of weapons used against the DPR and LPR.

Judging by the official London's response to the talks between Putin and Johnson, Downing Street primarily noted that the British Prime Minister "expressed the United Kingdom's deep concern over the build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine's border, and reiterated the importance of working through diplomatic channels to deescalate tensions and identify durable solutions."

 At the same time, Johnson allegedly stressed that "the UK is committed to Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and warned that any destabilizing action would be a strategic mistake that would have significant consequences." "Destabilizing action" is that by Moscow, not Kiev, isn't it?

As you can see, nothing changes about British politics: London is still trying to accuse Russia of the whole bag of tricks. And Ukraine is no exception here.

In the same UK, there have lately been frequent allegations of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.

 Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov called such information an empty and groundless escalation of tensions. At the same time, he did not rule out the possibility of provocations to justify such statements and warned that attempts to solve the crisis by force in south-eastern Ukraine would have the most serious consequences.

Peskov also assured that Moscow is making its best to help Kiev resolve the conflict in the Donbass, while remaining committed to the Normandy Format and the Minsk agreements.

Actually, President Putin himself has repeatedly spoken out on the issue. In particular, when asked about a possible "invasion of Ukraine" during the December 8 press conference following his talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Vladimir Putin called the question "provocative."

According to him, Russia "is conducting a peaceful foreign policy, but it has the right to ensure its security in the mid- and long-term perspective."

Putin also added that every country has the right to ensure its own safety, but "this should be done in such a way as not to violate the interests of other countries and not undermine the security of other countries," including Russia. According to him, it is here that "mutual restrictions" come into force. Moscow is guided by the fact that "security must be global and equally cover everyone," Vladimir Putin said.

Unfortunately, the West, including London, does not understand this. In many ways, this is where all the attacks on Russia come from, as countries lack understanding of Moscow's defense strategy.