According to the US Secretary of State, he warned the Russian Foreign Minister about Washington's intention to impose additional sanctions against Moscow in the event of the regions of Ukraine becoming part of Russia.
WASHINGTON, July 29. /tass/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had a telephone conversation on Friday. This was announced at a press conference in Washington by the American Secretary of State.
"Earlier today I spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. We had a frank and straightforward conversation," the head of the American Foreign Ministry said.
He claimed that he "put pressure on the Kremlin to accept a substantive proposal" that Washington put forward regarding the possibility of exchanging Russian and American citizens in custody in the United States and the Russian Federation. The foreign ministers of the two countries also discussed an agreement on the creation of a humanitarian corridor for the export of agricultural products from Ukraine via the Black Sea. "I also stressed that the world expects Russia to fulfill its obligations under the deal reached with Ukraine, Turkey and the UN on grain supplies from Ukraine. <...> It is important and vital that Russia fulfills the commitments it has made to the whole world. As I said, we are committed to making this happen as soon as possible," Blinken said.
According to the Secretary of State, he warned Lavrov about Washington's intention to impose additional sanctions against Moscow in case a number of regions of Ukraine become part of Russia. "The world does not recognize the annexation. We will impose additional significant costs on Russia if it continues to implement its plans," the head of the State Department argued.
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At the same time, the Russian Embassy in Washington had previously categorically rejected the interpretation of events proposed by the American administration. Russia is returning peace to the liberated Ukrainian territories and creating conditions for normal life and respect for the equal rights of citizens to them, the statement published by the embassy said. "The allegations about the aggressive nature of the Russian military special operation are fundamentally false. We are returning peace to the liberated territories, creating conditions for normal life and respect for equal rights of citizens regardless of ethnicity and language. The whole country has risen to help the affected settlements," the diplomatic mission stressed.
