“We are deeply concerned about Russia’s plans to launch a new aggression against Ukraine,” said the US Secretary of State, Antony Blink, before his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
Blinken resumed the tone adopted Wednesday when at a meeting of the OTAN in Riga, he expressed concern about “evidence” that Russia plans to launch “major aggressive actions against Ukraine.”
The top US official also warned Thursday that if Russia continues on the path of “confrontation” will suffer “serious consequences”, after he threatened Moscow with harsh sanctions on Wednesday.
Blinken, however, also made a gesture and stated that he was willing to “facilitate” the implementation of the Minsk accords, sealed after Russia annexed. Crimea in 2014 and which are intended to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists.
However, they have never been fully applied.
The ministerial meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), planned for a long time, brought together the two rival powers and also Ukraine in this meeting on the outskirts of Stockholm.
Lavrov, for his part, warned that a He “returned to the nightmarish scene of a military confrontation” and accused NATO of “bringing its military infrastructure closer to the Russian borders.”
The Russian minister also opposed an eventual expansion of the Atlantic alliance eastward to include Ukraine, but also lent a hand to dialogue.
“We are interested in common efforts in the direction of a resolution of the crisis in Ukraine,” said the head of Russian diplomacy. “We are ready,” he added.
On Thursday, Blinken met in the Swedish capital with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitro Kouleba, who reiterated his request for the implementation of “dissuasive measures” so that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, “Think twice before resorting to military force.”
Since November, Kiev and its Western allies have warned about a reinforcement of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine and the possibility of an invasion during the boreal winter.
The Kremlin said Thursday that Ukraine’s willingness to regain Crimea constitutes a “direct threat” to Russia.
Tensions continued on the ground, despite diplomatic meetings.
A Ukrainian soldier was killed on the front line in clashes with pro-Russian separatists, according to the Kiev army.
Meanwhile, Moscow said it detained three Ukrainian spies, one of whom is accused of planning an “attack” with explosives.
Source From: Ambito
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