The conflict between Russia and Ukraine. US Vice President Kamali Harris in Munich: Borders should not be changed by force

Nations have the right to choose their own form of government. Countries have the right to choose their alliances. (…) The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations must be respected. US Vice President Kamala Harris said during his speech at the Munich Security Conference, that state borders should not be changed by force.

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Harris stressed that in the event of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States and its allies would impose massive and unprecedented economic sanctions on Moscow. She added that the appropriate economic measures have already been prepared and will be directed primarily to Russian financial institutions.

The US Vice President also confirmed that the eastern wing of NATO will be further strengthened. We have already taken steps to strengthen our collective deterrence and defense systems. We have deployed an additional 6,000 US troops to Romania, Poland and Germany. It has returned 8.5 thousand additional soldiers in the United States on high alert.

Harris stressed that US forces will not be redeployed to Europe to fight on Ukrainian soil. “But they will defend all NATO territory,” she added.

Today, I would like to make clear that America’s commitment to Article 5 is engraved in stone. This obligation is sacred. She stressed the saint to me, and sacred to President Biden, as well as to our nation.

– Russia will pretend that it knows nothing and that it is innocent. It will create false pretexts for invasion. The armed forces will focus before our eyes. We get information about what appear to be provocations. Kamala Harris said Russia is spreading disinformation, lies and propaganda.

As President Joe Biden declared, Harris stressed that “the United States, our NATO allies, and our partners have been and remain open to serious diplomacy.” We have made specific proposals for consideration and have encouraged and entered into relations with Russia through NATO, through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and through the United Nations as well as in bilateral dialogue. We entered into these relationships in good faith. Russia continues to say that it is ready for talks, while at the same time narrowing the way for diplomacy. She stressed that Russia’s actions do not match the words it utters.

Vice President Harris is scheduled to meet in Munich later with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.

The office of the President of Ukraine announced that Zelensky will travel to Munich to return to the country on the same day. On Friday, US media reported that US administration officials had privately advised the Ukrainian president not to travel to Germany.

According to CNN, White House officials have argued that leaving the country would be a bad idea due to fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine in his absence. In turn, NBC News reported that, according to Washington, Russia could somehow take advantage of the president’s absence.

When asked about these reports, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the decision to leave was up to Zelensky himself, and the United States would support him no matter what he decides.

Kamala Harris’ meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky coincides with a period of heightened tensions on the border with Ukraine. On Friday, US President Joe Biden said he was convinced that Russian President Vladimir Putin had already made the decision to invade Ukraine. He announced that the United States had information that the attack would take place in the next few days.

– Biden said during his speech after a virtual meeting with the leaders of the main NATO countries, including Poland, that I am convinced that the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has already made a decision to invade Ukraine, and I have reasons to believe. In doing so, he referred to the “important intelligence capability” of the United States.

The Kremlin said last week that the Russian delegation would not attend this year’s conference for the first time since 1991. As Reuters notes, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov participated in the deliberations in Munich until 2013, when the pro-Western revolution in Ukraine was already underway, followed by Russia’s annexation of the peninsula. Crimea. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova assessed that the conference had become biased, which “lost its comprehensiveness and objectivity.”