Heger and Zelensky discuss cooperation with Ukraine: Putin likens conflict to genocide – Topky

On Thursday, Biden spoke with representatives of the so-called Bucharest Nine (B9) on its Tuesday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We are concerned about Russia’s military presence near the Ukrainian border. This is a serious threat and we cannot underestimate it.” Heger said during the discussion. According to the US President’s press department, the Slovak Prime Minister informed about Slovakia’s intensive cooperation with Ukraine and emphasized that our country supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.

“The message from next week’s Brussels European Council must be as harsh as the United States in the unprecedented economic or security sanctions that would follow if Russia decided to attack Ukraine.” said Heger. The Slovak Prime Minister appreciated that the American president is not only talking about the situation with the big players, but also with the countries on NATO’s eastern border, which are rightly the most concerned about the current security threats.

Source: SITA / AP Photo / Susan Walsh

The US President has repeatedly assured his partners of strong security support and that all steps the US will take in this direction will consult closely with all allies, the press department writes.“Europe’s security is also the security of the United States,” said Joe Biden. The Bucharest Nine (B9) consists of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. This group met for the first time at the level of heads of state in Bucharest in 2015, the press department of the Government Office of the Slovak Republic recalls.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked White House chief Joe Biden on Thursday for his strong support at a time when Ukraine is facing a threat from Russia. The AFP agency informed about it. Biden and Zelensky had a telephone conversation on Thursday. “The American president informed me about the content of his negotiations with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. We also discussed possible formats for resolving the conflict in Donbas.” wrote Zelensky after an interview on Twitter. He added that he also talked with Biden about possible internal reforms in Ukraine.

Source: SITA / Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

Biden Zelenský also assured that the USA will provide Ukraine with the necessary assistance against external aggression, writes the TASS agency, referring to the head of the office of Ukrainian President Andriy Jermak. “Today, we can say with certainty that the United States has taken the decision to become an active participant in the peace process.” said Jermak. According to Jermak, the conversation between Biden and Zelenský was “very open and direct” and lasted one and a half hours, writes the DPA. Biden and Putin held an online summit on Tuesday to discuss the Ukrainian conflict, as both sides accuse each other of military provocations. However, the summit did not bring any breakthrough.

For several weeks now, the United States has been accusing Russia of gathering troops near the border with Ukraine. In the West, therefore, there are strong fears of a possible Russian invasion. Russia rejects the allegations and accuses Ukraine of relocating more than 120,000 troops to the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting for control since 2014.

According to Putin, the conflict in eastern Ukraine is similar to genocide

The conflict between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine is similar to genocide, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. The AFP agency informed about it. His remarks came at a time of planned talks between US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders of other countries on Russia’s borders, who are concerned about military aggression by the Kremlin, AFP writes.

Source: SITA / Adam Schultz / The White House via AP

During a meeting of the Presidential Human Rights Council, Putin asked about discrimination against the Russian-speaking population outside Russia. “I must say that Russophobia is the first step towards genocide,” he noted. “You know, I know what’s going on in Donbas,” Putin said in connection with the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine. “It certainly looks like genocide,” he added. Putin previously made a similar comparison in connection with the war in eastern Ukraine, including 2015 and 2019, writes AFP.

Most of the population in Ukraine speaks both Ukrainian and Russian, although the regions in the south and east – and some in the central part – are predominantly Russian-speaking and traditionally friendlier to Russia. The popular uprising in Ukraine overthrew the Moscow-backed regime in 2014. Since then, Moscow has annexed the Crimean peninsula and Ukrainian troops are in conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. Fighting has claimed about 13,000 lives there so far. The United States and its allies have been accusing Russia for weeks of planning an invasion of Ukraine and gathering troops on the border with Ukraine, the AFP said.

Biden spoke to Putin via a video line this week, warning Russia of crippling sanctions if it took military action against Ukraine.