MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. Parallel visits by US President Joe Biden to Ukraine and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Turkey are the United States’ attempt to distract attention from Russian President Vladimir Putin's message to the Federal Assembly, due on Tuesday, February 21. This "propaganda attack" will not produce any tangible results in the zone of Russia’s special operation, though, Andrey Bystritsky, the board chairman of the Foundation for the Development and Support of the Valdai discussion club, told TASS on Monday.
Bystritsky said the visits were synchronized "propaganda attacks" ahead of the Russian leader's message to both houses of parliament. "We are witnessing a propaganda salvo from the West against Russia," he stressed. "It is an attempt to intercept the agenda."
According to the analyst, in this way the US leadership is trying to influence the domestic audience in anticipation of the upcoming US presidential election next year.
"The election is drawing near. In the meantime, Biden has no special results to this credit. Success in Ukraine would give the Democrats a huge competitive edge in the next presidential election," he continued. "Blinken’s task is to overcome Turkey’s resistance to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. He is out to demonstrate that the US is in the commanding position. After the earthquake, the US thinks, Turkey will be more flexible."
At the same time, Bystritsky stressed that the visits, organized by the US leadership, "will not change anything on the ground."
"For now, it’s all very fishy," he added. "We shouldn't expect any direct consequences."
Earlier, Biden, who arrived in Kiev on an unannounced visit on Monday, promised additional military assistance to Ukraine. This is the first visit by the US leader to Ukraine since he was elected president. Blinken, in turn, went on a parallel visit to Turkey, where he held talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. The two men discussed the outlook for Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO.