US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he canceled his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which was due to take place on Thursday.
In a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Blinken said that he would only hold the meeting if Russia did not invade Ukraine, but that “now that we see that the invasion is starting and Russia has made clear its total rejection diplomacy, it makes no sense to go ahead with this meeting at this time”.
“I consulted with our allies and partners. Everyone agrees. Today, I sent Foreign Minister Lavrov a letter informing him of this,” he added.
Blinken’s announcement comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two pro-Moscow breakaway regions in Ukraine as independent and announced he would send “peacekeeping” forces there.
US President Joe Biden and senior US officials said on Tuesday that Putin’s moves marked the beginning of a new Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Biden announced a first tranche of sanctions in response.
Blinken said the United States “remains committed to diplomacy if Russia is prepared to take demonstrable steps to provide the international community with any degree of confidence that it is serious about de-escalation and the pursuit of a diplomatic solution.”
He noted that the US will remain in coordination with its allies and partners “based on Russia’s actions and facts on the ground.”
“But we will not allow Russia to claim the pretense of diplomacy while accelerating its march along the path of conflict and war,” he continued.
understand the conflict
After months of military escalation and intemperance on the Ukrainian border, Russia is increasing pressure on its former Soviet neighbor, threatening to destabilize Europe and involve the United States.
Russia has been tightening its military grip around Ukraine for the past year, amassing tens of thousands of troops, equipment and artillery at the country’s gates. The mobilization prompted warnings from US intelligence officials that a Russian invasion could be imminent.
In recent weeks, diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions have not come to a conclusion. The independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, two Ukrainian separatist areas, was recognized by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday (21).
The escalation in the years-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine has set off the continent’s biggest security crisis since the Cold War, raising the specter of a dangerous confrontation between Western powers and Moscow.
(From Sarah Marsh and Madeline Chambers of Reuters and Eliza Mackintosh,
Source: CNN Brasil
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