US-Russia Leadership Conference: Avoiding Ukraine Collision

Published in Hokkaido Shimbun
(Japan) on 9 December 2021
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Dorothy Phoenix. Edited by Gillian Palmer.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in an online conference concerning the current situation regarding the Ukrainian border, where concerns of potential military confrontation are mounting.

In March of this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who took office in 2019, set forth a policy to reclaim the Crimean Peninsula from Russia. In response, Russian troops have been amassing at the border zone, numbering 90,000.

Biden has expressed concern over the situation, warning that should Russian troops invade Ukraine, he will take strong economic measures, including sanctions, and will make plans to strengthen military support for neighboring ally nations.

Bearing Ukraine in mind, Putin requested a legal guarantee from NATO that it would not expand its roster of member nations or deploy offensive weapons in nations that neighbor Russia.

According to U.S. press, analysis by U.S. sources has determined that Russia will commence invasion at the beginning of next year, and the size of its forces will reach 175,000 troops.

Russia must immediately cease its conduct, which is increasing tensions. Relevant authorities have confirmed that leadership on both sides are continuing discussions. They must come together with NATO and Ukraine and devise a plan to quickly bring the situation under control.

The genesis of this problem was that in 2014, ignoring international law, Russia forcibly and unilaterally annexed the Crimean Peninsula from the southern part of Ukraine.

In the leadership summit, Biden once again declared support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and right to territorial integrity. Russia should withdraw from the Crimean Peninsula and return to conditions before the annexation.

Ukraine is a buffer zone with Europe and a key strategic location for Russian security. Ukraine is likely strengthening its ties to Europe, raising concerns for Russia that it might join NATO.

Nevertheless, Russia cannot be allowed to solve the problem through military force.

If it proceeds with the invasion as it did seven years ago, Russia should sincerely understand that it will invite strong sanctions from the U.S. and Europe, as well as even more isolation from the international community.

Biden said that in the event of an invasion, he will deploy additional troops to Baltic countries that made up the former Soviet Union.

If the two sides match each other in force, it is possible that they might occasionally clash. All sides must strive to reach a diplomatic, rather than a military, solution.

The U.S.-Russia relationship deteriorated during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in which Putin supported former President Donald Trump, causing distrust to arise. The relationship is said to be at its worst state since the end of the Cold War.

During the meeting, the first in half a year, other topics, such as nuclear arms controls, were also discussed. We would like to see further discussions, as well as a speedy move from military confrontation to disarmament.


米ロ首脳会談 ウクライナ衝突回避を

軍事衝突の懸念が高まっているウクライナ国境の情勢を巡って、バイデン米大統領とロシアのプーチン大統領がオンライン形式で会談した。

 2019年に就任したウクライナのゼレンスキー大統領が今年3月、ロシアからのクリミア半島奪還を目指す方針を打ち出したのに合わせ、ロシア軍が国境地帯に集結し、その数は9万人に達する。

 バイデン氏は懸念を表明し、ロシア軍がウクライナに侵攻すれば、制裁を念頭に強力な経済的措置を取り、周辺の同盟国への軍事支援強化を図ると警告した。

 プーチン氏はウクライナを念頭に、北大西洋条約機構(NATO)が加盟国を拡大をしたり、ロシア近隣に攻撃型兵器を配備したりしない「法的な保証」を求めた。

 米紙によると、ロシア軍は来年初めにも侵攻を開始し、部隊は17万5千人規模になると、米側は分析している。

 ロシアは緊張を高める行動を直ちにやめるべきだ。両首脳は当局間による協議継続を確認した。NATOやウクライナも交え、早急に事態収拾を図る必要がある。

 そもそも問題の発端は、ロシアが14年に国際法を無視してウクライナ南部クリミア半島を武力で一方的に編入したことだ。

 会談でバイデン氏はウクライナの主権と領土保全への支持を改めて表明した。ロシアはクリミア編入を取り消し、以前の状態に戻さなければならない。

 ロシアにとって安全保障上、ウクライナは欧州との緩衝地帯であり要衝だ。ウクライナが親欧路線を強め、NATOに加盟することに懸念を強めているのだろう。

 だからといって、軍事力で解決を図ることは認められない。

 7年前のように侵攻に踏み切れば、欧米による制裁強化を招き、国際社会でさらに孤立することを、ロシアは深く認識すべきだ。

 バイデン氏は、ウクライナ侵攻時には旧ソ連のバルト諸国などへ米軍を追加派遣すると伝えた。

 力に力で対抗すれば、偶発的な衝突を招きかねない。軍事より外交的解決に努めるべきだ。

 米ロ関係は、16年の米大統領選で、ロシアがトランプ前大統領の当選を後押ししたとされる疑惑が浮上して悪化し、冷戦後最悪と言われる状況が続いている。

 半年ぶりの顔合わせとなった今回の会談では、核軍備管理なども話し合った。さらに協議を重ね、対立から軍縮への動きを加速させてもらいたい。
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