Threats of "consequences" against Russia in the event of an invasion of Ukraine continue. Lithuanian Foreign Minister insists on abandoning dialogue with Russia
Washington/Brussels. December 23. INTERFAX - US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Head of European Diplomacy Josep Borrel confirmed their readiness to coordinate efforts on Russia's policy towards Ukraine, the US State Department said following a conversation between the two politicians.
"They stressed the need for coordinated actions to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and confirmed that any further Russian military aggression against Ukraine will have serious consequences for the Russian Federation," the State Department said in a statement.
Earlier, the European Foreign Policy Service informed that Borrel and Blinken expressed confidence that Russian proposals on security in Europe cannot be discussed without the participation of the European Union.
"Secretary Blinken and High Representative Borrel took note of the proposals submitted by Russia last week reflecting the views of the Russian Federation on possible security arrangements in Europe... They agreed that any discussions on the topic of European security are possible only with the participation of the EU and in coordination with it," the message says.
In addition, Blinken and Borrel discussed the topic of the concentration of Russian troops near Ukrainian territory and once again expressed support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde said that in an interview with Borrel she discussed "concern about the development of events in and around Ukraine."
She noted that the parties "confirmed their readiness to use the OSCE as a platform for dialogue on de-escalation of the situation."
Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger wrote on Facebook that, in his opinion, NATO and the United States should put forward the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Ukrainian border as a condition for dialogue with Russia.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis believes that negotiations on the Russian initiative are not advisable at all.
"We do not think that any negotiations should be started on what was proposed by Russia," he said in an interview with the British edition of The Times.
He stressed: "We believe that it is necessary to maintain the current status of defense in the region. And the only conversation we would like to see concerns the possibility of strengthening security guarantees in the region, which starts from the Black Sea in Romania and extends all the way to Estonia," the diplomat stressed.
According to him, Russia plans to invade Ukraine in the coming months, and NATO should provide Kiev with defensive weapons.
"I think Russia has clear intentions to attack. There is evidence that this intention is real, and we must prepare for it. In addition, it is quite possible that the intention is not just to attack, but to actually change the security situation in the entire region."
