Moscow will not hold back in the face of threats of US sanctions on the Ukrainian crisis. This is what the Russian embassy in Washington announced today. A warning that comes before the expected telephone conversation between Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “We will not back down and stand at attention, listening to the threats of US sanctions,” the embassy wrote on Facebook, adding that “it is Washington, not Moscow, that is generating tension”. Yesterday, in the first meeting of the UN Security Council dedicated to the feared threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, yet another tough battle between Washington and Moscow. But diplomacy continues to work: Boris Johnson spoke to Vladimir Putin and today flies from Zelensky to Kiev, where the French, German and Polish foreign ministers, after the Canadian one, are also expected in the coming days.
Lavrov-Blinken telephone interview
Meanwhile, the telephone conversation between Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected for today: it is the first time that the two have spoken after the delivery of the written response from the United States to Moscow’s requests. According to the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the main topic of the telephone conversation would be “the Russian response” to the US proposals for the de-escalation of the Ukrainian crisis and on the subject of “security guarantees” asked from Moscow. According to Ria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that “after the telephone conversation, Serghiei Lavrov will release a comment on the situation to the media”.
Biden: “Ready for anything that can happen”
Yesterday, US President Joe Biden reiterated: the United States continues to seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukraine, but is “ready for anything that can happen”. He added that during the meeting of the UN Security Council, the US explained the “scale of the threat” from Russia. Biden spoke during the meeting with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at the White House: “We continue to seek the diplomatic path as the best way to move forward. But with Russia continuing to increase its troops. around Ukraine we are ready, whatever happens, “he said. He then reported that he had spoken with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky last Thursday and that the two nations are engaged in a “non-stop” diplomatic effort. The EU is also on the move: EU vice president and economic commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, during his visit to Kiev, said that “the European Union is working on a substantial package of sanctions against Russia that includes personal sanctions , economic, financial and commercial. The package is designed to discourage Russia from further aggressive actions “.” The EU – he added – is determined to support Ukraine economically and politically “.
Moscow denies having delivered a written response to the US
Meanwhile, the Washington Post – quoting an American executive – made it known that the Russian government would send a written response to the US proposal for the de-escalation of the Ukrainian crisis and on the subject of the “security guarantees” requested by Russia. “We can confirm that we have received a written response from Russia. It would be unproductive to negotiate in public, so we will leave Russia to decide if they want to discuss their response,” the source said. Later, however, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko denied the news: the Russian state news agency Ria Novosti reports it. “This does not correspond to reality,” Grushko told Ria Novosti.
Source-tg24.sky.it