Kyiv has been trying for two days to find out data on the actions of the Russian army in the zone bordering Ukraine. On February 11, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry requested a report with detailed information, and on February 13, diplomats asked to gather the participants of the Vienna Document 2011, including Russia. Negotiations should take place within two days. Within 48 hours, Ukraine expects to meet with Russia and other countries participating in the Vienna Document 2011. Kiev intends to clarify the situation with the movement of troops along the border with Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba wrote about this Twitter page.
In the post, he stressed that Moscow did not respond to the request under the Vienna Document, so Kiev is moving on to further action. “We ask for a meeting with Russia and all participating states within 48 hours to discuss its strengthening and redeployment along our border and in the temporarily occupied Crimea,” Kuleba wrote.
The minister also believes that Russia "must fulfill its commitment to military transparency in order to reduce tensions and increase security for all" if it is serious about "the indivisibility of security in the OSCE area."
Two days earlier, Kuleba announced that Kiev would activate the Vienna Document. “We have formally applied the mitigation mechanism under Section III of the Vienna Document,” he tweeted.
Thus, Kiev turned to Russia and demanded to provide an explanation of its “military activities” near the Ukrainian borders and in Crimea within two days. The Ukrainian authorities want information about the exact areas of the exercise, the dates of military activities, as well as data on military formations, equipment and weapons used.
Kuleba warned that if Russia does not provide Ukraine with the requested information, or Kiev considers that the data is “insufficient or inadequate”, then Ukrainian politicians will turn to the Vienna Document countries to convene negotiations.
A RIA Novosti source in the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the diplomats received Kiev's request through the OSCE communication channels. But Moscow considers the provision of such data unreasonable, since Russia's military activities "are not unusual and do not give grounds for triggering the mechanism."
According to the interlocutor of the agency, the ministry believes that Kiev is trying in this way to divert attention from "its own significant unusual military activity" and the daily shelling of Donbass. A RIA Novosti source said that Moscow would respond to this request.
Not only Russia and Ukraine, but also other countries of the Vienna Document of 2011 can participate in the meeting, which Kiev has asked for. More than 50 states have joined it, including the USA, Great Britain, Germany, France.
The meeting can take place in any place that should have been chosen jointly. If it was not possible to agree, then negotiations can be organized in Vienna at the Center for Conflict Prevention. The meeting will be hosted by Poland (as the chairman of the OSCE).
The Vienna Document, signed in 2011, assumes that countries will take measures to strengthen security and confidence between the parties to the agreement. They exchange data on military forces, exercises, major weapons systems, and so on. Consultations can be held in "unusual military activities", dangerous incidents.
From February 10 to February 20, Russia and Belarus are conducting an inspection of the Armed Forces of the Union State. Until February 9, the deployment and grouping of troops on the territory of the republic took place. And on February 10, the exercises "Allied Resolve - 2022" began.
Parts of the Armed Forces of Belarus, as well as the Aerospace Forces and the Russian Airborne Forces, are participating in the military event. For the exercises, Russia sent fighters, long-range and short-range air defense systems. After checking the readiness of the armed forces, Russian troops will be sent back.
This event caused concern among the Baltic countries. Shortly before Ukraine, the Vienna Document was activated by Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. They requested information about military operations in a neighboring country.
“We call on Belarus to respect international obligations and provide information on the scope and nature of the exercises,” the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Russia has repeatedly asserted that the number of troops and weapons does not exceed the level of the Vienna Document 2011.
bbabo.Net