Zürcher Nachrichten - Biden to send troops to eastern Europe amid Ukraine diplomacy push

EUR -
AED 3.84509
AFN 71.777909
ALL 98.141202
AMD 408.574256
ANG 1.895444
AOA 956.307906
ARS 1050.834504
AUD 1.612295
AWG 1.88697
AZN 1.781792
BAM 1.95518
BBD 2.123426
BDT 125.68012
BGN 1.95544
BHD 0.394556
BIF 3106.673555
BMD 1.046863
BND 1.413279
BOB 7.266764
BRL 6.08667
BSD 1.051666
BTN 88.857002
BWP 14.357787
BYN 3.441808
BYR 20518.511152
BZD 2.119927
CAD 1.463907
CDF 3004.495922
CHF 0.928358
CLF 0.036943
CLP 1019.371919
CNY 7.586823
CNH 7.596382
COP 4597.413202
CRC 534.630353
CUC 1.046863
CUP 27.741865
CVE 110.231075
CZK 25.351929
DJF 187.280573
DKK 7.458552
DOP 63.369892
DZD 139.850155
EGP 52.055675
ERN 15.702942
ETB 131.05999
FJD 2.383654
FKP 0.826307
GBP 0.832863
GEL 2.852699
GGP 0.826307
GHS 16.721854
GIP 0.826307
GMD 74.327594
GNF 9065.210059
GTQ 8.118501
GYD 220.032282
HKD 8.147472
HNL 26.576948
HRK 7.467544
HTG 138.078823
HUF 411.263192
IDR 16654.540506
ILS 3.888614
IMP 0.826307
INR 88.452372
IQD 1377.782549
IRR 44078.158835
ISK 146.099629
JEP 0.826307
JMD 167.02418
JOD 0.742329
JPY 162.076355
KES 135.30763
KGS 90.541947
KHR 4241.735067
KMF 491.658984
KPW 942.176136
KRW 1467.345375
KWD 0.322141
KYD 0.876434
KZT 521.551976
LAK 23036.690094
LBP 94182.614366
LKR 305.992904
LRD 189.834296
LSL 19.030043
LTL 3.091114
LVL 0.633237
LYD 5.13737
MAD 10.518163
MDL 19.150923
MGA 4924.554963
MKD 61.549271
MMK 3400.169584
MNT 3557.239785
MOP 8.431545
MRU 41.826127
MUR 49.0452
MVR 16.174377
MWK 1823.664873
MXN 21.399132
MYR 4.676858
MZN 66.894575
NAD 19.030134
NGN 1770.328441
NIO 38.49315
NOK 11.602768
NPR 142.170924
NZD 1.795014
OMR 0.40304
PAB 1.051666
PEN 3.994832
PGK 4.233697
PHP 61.630383
PKR 292.324522
PLN 4.344295
PYG 8254.380754
QAR 3.83432
RON 4.977308
RSD 117.026668
RUB 106.047711
RWF 1445.075964
SAR 3.930488
SBD 8.761739
SCR 14.258139
SDG 629.686448
SEK 11.599638
SGD 1.409962
SHP 0.826307
SLE 23.643399
SLL 21952.194733
SOS 601.035118
SRD 37.064183
STD 21667.946639
SVC 9.202212
SYP 2630.274077
SZL 19.038413
THB 36.362743
TJS 11.200706
TMT 3.674488
TND 3.327176
TOP 2.451861
TRY 36.201935
TTD 7.138837
TWD 34.080594
TZS 2776.65598
UAH 43.420359
UGX 3885.804091
USD 1.046863
UYU 44.816635
UZS 13457.421913
VES 48.437715
VND 26608.635571
VUV 124.285657
WST 2.922413
XAF 655.764576
XAG 0.033764
XAU 0.000389
XCD 2.829199
XDR 0.802265
XOF 655.74892
XPF 119.331742
YER 261.608951
ZAR 18.964653
ZMK 9423.028407
ZMW 29.000798
ZWL 337.089399
  • RIO

    0.1800

    62.57

    +0.29%

  • BTI

    -0.1000

    36.98

    -0.27%

  • CMSC

    0.1200

    24.64

    +0.49%

  • BCC

    2.9500

    140.36

    +2.1%

  • CMSD

    0.1850

    24.445

    +0.76%

  • SCS

    -0.0300

    13.04

    -0.23%

  • BCE

    -0.3200

    26.68

    -1.2%

  • JRI

    0.0000

    13.23

    0%

  • BP

    0.4400

    29.52

    +1.49%

  • GSK

    0.3500

    33.7

    +1.04%

  • NGG

    -0.1700

    63.1

    -0.27%

  • RBGPF

    59.6900

    59.69

    +100%

  • AZN

    1.0600

    64.26

    +1.65%

  • RELX

    0.6500

    45.76

    +1.42%

  • RYCEF

    0.1800

    6.79

    +2.65%

  • VOD

    -0.1000

    8.84

    -1.13%

Biden to send troops to eastern Europe amid Ukraine diplomacy push
Biden to send troops to eastern Europe amid Ukraine diplomacy push

Biden to send troops to eastern Europe amid Ukraine diplomacy push

US President Joe Biden on Friday sought to maintain pressure on Russian leader Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, announcing a small troop deployment to eastern Europe even as top Pentagon officials backed a renewed push for diplomacy.

Text size:

As President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Western leaders to avoid stirring "panic" over the massive Russian troop buildup on his country's borders, Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on the need for de-escalation.

Neither Putin nor his Western counterparts had until now appeared ready to give ground in the weeks-long crisis, the worst in decades in the region between Russia and Western Europe.

But according to a Macron aide, Putin told the French leader in a call lasting more than an hour that he had "no offensive plans."

In Washington, Biden nevertheless said he would soon send a small number of US troops -- "not too many" -- to bolster the NATO presence in eastern Europe as tensions remain heightened.

The United States already has tens of thousands of troops stationed across mostly Western Europe.

At the Pentagon, top officials urged a focus on diplomacy while saying that Russia now had enough troops and equipment in place to threaten the whole of Ukraine.

Any such conflict, warned the top US general, Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, would be "horrific" for both sides.

"If that was unleashed on Ukraine, it would be significant, very significant, and it would result in a significant amount of casualties," Milley said.

"It would be horrific, it will be terrible," he said.

But speaking alongside Milley, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said war in Ukraine could still be avoided.

"Conflict is not inevitable. There is still time and space for diplomacy," said Austin.

"Mr Putin can do the right thing as well," said Austin. "There is no reason that this situation has to devolve into conflict. He can choose to de-escalate. He can order his troops away."

During his talks with Macron, Putin "expressed no offensive plans and said he wanted to continue the talks with France and our allies," the aide to the French president said.

Their conversation "enabled us to agree on the need for a de-escalation," the aide told journalists. Putin "said very clearly that he did not want confrontation."

- Complex threat -

Since October, Russia has amassed more than 100,000 combat troops and equipment, as well as support forces, along its frontier with Ukraine and more recently in Belarus, which borders Ukraine on the north.

Western officials say Russia has also mustered more air and sea assets in the region, creating a complex threat like none seen since the Cold War.

Moscow has demanded wide-ranging security guarantees from the West, including that Ukraine never be allowed to join NATO.

Those demands have been the subject of intensive negotiations, with the West warning of far-reaching consequences if diplomacy fails and Russia attacks.

"We don't need this panic," Zelensky told a news conference with foreign media, insisting he wanted to avoid hurting his country's already battered economy.

"There are signals even from respected leaders of states, they just say that tomorrow there will be war. This is panic -- how much does it cost for our state?" he asked.

In talks with Macron, the Ukrainian leader called for more meetings and talks "while a propitious climate for dialogue exists."

- Russia's concerns not addressed -

Putin also made clear to Macron that the written responses from the West to his demands this week had fallen short of Russia's expectations, the Kremlin said.

"The US and NATO responses did not take into account Russia's fundamental concerns including preventing NATO's expansion," Putin said, according to the Kremlin's readout of the call.

He added that the West had ignored the "key question," that no country should strengthen its security at the expense of others, adding Russia would "carefully study" the responses, "after which it will decide on further actions."

Russia has also demanded a pullback of NATO forces deployed to eastern European and ex-Soviet countries that joined the alliance after the Cold War.

In a sign of continued tensions, Russia announced Friday evening it had added several EU officials to a list of people banned from entering the country, saying they were responsible for "anti-Russian policies."

- Threat to key pipeline -

The Putin-Macron phone call followed talks in Paris this week between Russia and Ukraine, with France and Germany alongside, which produced a joint statement to preserve a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine between government forces and pro-Moscow separatists.

They also agreed to hold new talks in Berlin in February.

In tandem with the diplomacy, the West has upped its threats of a tough response to an invasion.

Washington and Berlin warned that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, designed to double supplies of Russian natural gas to Germany, was at stake.

Milley said Russia itself would be hurt by war.

"If Russia chooses to invade Ukraine, it will not be cost-free, in terms of casualties or other significant effects," he said.

burs-pmh/sst/bfm

W.O.Ludwig--NZN