Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin Fearing a Russian invasion, their senior diplomats will hold talks in the “near future” after Stockholm has made no significant progress in resolving the impasse in Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony winkedAfter exchanging threats with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a 40-minute meeting, they chose not to make joint appearances. The short duration of the meeting indicates that the possibility of a breakthrough is very small.
“We had a very direct, very frank, non-controversial exchange of opinions,” Brinken said afterwards. “This is serious; it is sober. I believe the Minister of Foreign Affairs will bring the conversation back to President Putin. Of course, I will do the same to President Biden. And I think the presidents are likely to be in the near future. Speak directly.”
The United States threatened to adopt “high-impact economic measures” if Russia’s additional troops of about 100,000 lead to greater conflict with Russia. UkraineMoscow has stated that the close relationship between NATO and Kiev makes Moscow feel threatened.
In the belligerent statement after the talks, the Russian Foreign Ministry threatened to take “retaliatory measures” if its interests were ignored. The ministry wrote: “Ignoring Russia’s legitimate concerns, Ukraine’s participation in the U.S. geopolitical game with NATO forces deployed near our borders will have the most serious consequences and will force Moscow to take retaliatory measures to balance military and strategy. balance.”
Brinken reiterated the US warning that “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine will have serious consequences, including the high-impact economic measures we have avoided in the past.”
“We have been and will continue to be very aware of these consequences. I think Moscow is very aware of what may happen,” he said.
The talks took place after Blinken told Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba Then There is an “unwavering commitment…to Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence”.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also met with Lavrov in Stockholm, where she expressed “concerns about the escalation of tensions in Europe” because she “reaffirmed Britain’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and urged the Russian government Ease the situation. ,” according to the reading of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Lavrov showed provocation before the meeting, telling the media that NATO’s eastward expansion “will definitely affect our basic security interests.”
The meeting was held during the OSCE Ministerial Meeting in Stockholm and was the most eye-catching negotiation between Russia and the United States since Putin and Putin. Joe Biden Meet in Geneva in June. Biden also sent CIA Director William Burns to Moscow several times to tell Russia not to launch a new offensive in Ukraine.
Russia is seeking to hold another presidential summit with the United States. Putin has stated that he will ask for assurances that NATO will limit support for Ukraine, which is a non-member alliance with the security bloc. NATO head Jens Stoltenberg stated that Russia has no veto power over Ukraine’s entry into the military alliance.
On Thursday, a Russian Foreign Ministry official stated that he hoped that Biden and Putin would have a direct dialogue in the next few days.
The punitive measures taken by the United States during military operations in Russia may target Russia’s new Beixi No. 2 natural gas pipeline, Access to the Swift bank information system, or threaten to impose sanctions on other sectors of the Russian economy.
Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and triggered a war against Kiev in southeastern Ukraine, killing more than 13,000 people.
In a separate speech before the meeting on Thursday, Brinken called on Russia to “respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, ease the situation, reverse the recent build-up of troops, restore troops to normal and peaceful positions, and implement the Minsk agreement. [peace deal] promise”.
He said that diplomacy is the only way to resolve the crisis and urged Moscow and Kiev to follow the Minsk Agreement of 2015, which seems to be close to collapse in recent months.
Brinken said: “Tango needs two people. If our Russian friends are ready to carry out their promises in Minsk, and our Ukrainian friends are also ready, we will fully support it. This is the best way to avoid another crisis in Ukraine. “
Russia said separately on Thursday that it had detained three Ukrainian spies, one of whom allegedly planned to launch an attack with explosives. The FSB’s domestic intelligence agency did not specify where or when it detained the Ukrainians. It said that the two accused spies-a father and son-were agents of the Ukrainian SBU security service who “went to Russia to collect information on strategically important companies and transportation infrastructure and take photos and videos.” The SBU stated that the accusation was “false” and part of the “hybrid war” effort.
