The US Secretary of State calls on the Russian Federation to withdraw the concentration of troops from the borders of Ukraine, to stop shelling in Donbas and to fulfill the Minsk agreements.
Blinken is convinced that the current situation must be resolved diplomatically / photo REUTERS
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United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is threatening the Russian Federation with powerful “economic measures” that have never been used before, in the event of invasion of Ukraine.
As a UNIAN correspondent reports, about this Blinken stated today in Riga at a press conference following a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
“If Russia takes the path of confrontation when it comes to Ukraine, then we made it clear to the Kremlin that we will react decisively, including with economic measures with a high level of influence, which we refused to implement in the past. I will not elaborate on them. today “, – said Blinken.
He said the US has shared its vision with other Alliance member countries and partners.
As the Secretary of State noted, there is tremendous solidarity in NATO regarding the attitude and readiness to take decisive measures if Russia again invades Ukraine and renews its aggression.
“If Russia abandons diplomacy and attacks Ukraine again, we will be ready to act. And it is very important that Russia understands that every action we consider will entail serious consequences,” Blinken said.
He also said that it is equally important that the member states ensure that Ukraine is provided with the means to enable it to defend itself.
In addition, according to him, at the same time it is important that the Alliance should study what to do in the event of further aggression by the Russian Federation, and, in particular, strengthen its own defenses.
At the same time, the Secretary of State expressed his conviction that the current situation should be resolved in a diplomatic manner.
“We are definitely not seeking conflict. And this diplomatic path lies through the Minsk agreements reached in 2014 and 2015, which were not implemented mainly because Russia did not fulfill its obligations,” Blinken said.
In his opinion, if Ukraine and Russia jointly implement the Minsk agreements, then there will be a diplomatic settlement of the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
“We urge Russia to choose this path and at the same time move away from what it is doing – to withdraw the accumulation of troops from the border, to resume the ceasefire (in Donbass), reached in July 2020, and to stop destabilizing and provocative actions.” – said Blinken.
Read alsoKuleba spoke about the worst-case scenario in the event of a Russian invasion
Potential escalation at the border: what is known
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Washington Post, referring to the statements of its anonymous sources, wrote that Russia resumed building up military power on the border with Ukraine. In addition, videos with echelons of military equipment, in particular tanks and missiles, which are being transported to the southern and western regions of Russia, began to appear on social networks. According to the newspaper, the US and Europe drew attention to this after the completion of the Russian-Belarusian military exercises “West-2021”.
At the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine then denied the information spread by The Washington Post on the buildup of military force by Russia at the Ukrainian border. The data on the movement of Russian troops published in the media were called by the Ministry of Defense “an element of special information and psychological actions, which are, in fact, planned measures within the framework of the movement of troops after the completion of the exercises.”
Later edition Politico releases fresh satellite photos, which confirm reports that Russia is again concentrating troops and military equipment on the border with Ukraine.
Subsequently, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kirill Budanov in an interview with Military Times reportedthat Russia has concentrated 92 thousand troops near the border with Ukraine and is preparing for an invasion in late January – early February 2022. Recently, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba said that Russia has placed on the borders of Ukraine 115 thousand military.
According to the message Financial Times Western intelligence assumes a “high likelihood of destabilization” of Ukraine by Russia this winter.
Moscow denies accusations of preparing an attack on Ukraine and, on the contrary, points to the intensification of NATO forces near the Russian borders.
At a press conference on November 26, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed the opinion that an escalation on the part of Russia on the border by the militants it supports in Donbas could happen any day.
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Vitaly Sayenko
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