Moscow’s military rally near the Ukrainian border has fueled tensions between NATO, the EU and Russia. Amid diplomacy and the threat of even harsher sanctions, the foreign ministers meeting in Sweden seek to avoid any confrontation with the Kremlin.
Euronews’ Efi Koutsokosta spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken following his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of an OSCE meeting in Stockholm.
Efi Koutsokosta:
“You said there is evidence of Russian plans to invade Ukraine. So how close are we to a military confrontation?”
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States:
“Well, we don’t know President Putin’s intention. We don’t know if he has made the decision to take renewed and aggressive action against Ukraine, but what we do know is that he is putting in place the ability to do it and to do it.” so on short notice, and that’s very, very disturbing. And not just for us. It is of concern to many partners across Europe. I was at the NATO summit before I came here to the OSCE, and that concern is widespread. It is very important for me and for us to communicate very clearly to Russia the mistake of committing a new aggression against Ukraine, the serious consequences that this would have and our conviction that, whatever the differences, they are best resolved through diplomacy, in particular through implementation. of the Minsk accords that have never been implemented. “
Efi Koutsokosta:
“But you just had a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Do you have any indication of his intentions now? What was the mood? And do you have any message that a de-escalation is coming?”
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States:
“We had a very direct, sincere conversation, as we usually do. Without controversy. Very, very professional. Very simple. And I shared it with him, because it is important to be able to share this directly, communicate directly, not simply through television or press releases, but to speak face to face, because I wanted him to understand the concerns we have, the consequences that would result if our concerns are materialized by the Russian aggression, but also our conviction that the best way “Forward is diplomacy , is for Russia to reduce escalation, withdraw its forces and become meaningfully involved in the implementation of the Minsk agreement. “
Efi Koutsokosta:
“Can you say that you are closer now to a breakthrough or a reduction in escalation?”
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States:
“What I can say is this, Mr. Lavrov will report to President Putin. I, of course, am doing the same with President Biden. I hope the presidents will speak in the near future and we will move on. But first and foremost is be very clear and very direct about how we see this, what are our concerns, what are we going to do and what we would prefer to do, which is to revitalize diplomacy and finally resolve the occupation of these territories in Ukraine. “
Efi Koutsokosta:
“So are there any concrete plans for a meeting between the two presidents?”
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States:
“My expectation is that they will speak in the near future.”
Efi Koutsokosta “
“You warned of the dire consequences if Russia finally invades Ukraine. What do you mean by that? And how far are you ready to go? Are you ready to go beyond economic sanctions?”
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States:
“There would be high-impact economic consequences. I think Moscow is well aware of the universe of those consequences, and I hope that President Putin will take that into account in his calculations. At the same time, the United States and other countries have been working to ensure that Ukraine have the means to defend yourself. And of course, if there is any threat to the NATO alliance, we will ensure that we continue to strengthen our own defensive capabilities. But I also emphasize the word defensive. NATO is a defensive alliance, not an aggressive alliance. We are here for the protection and safety of our members, but also to help partners like Ukraine defend themselves if they are at risk of aggression. So that’s what we focus on. But I think, again, that the most important thing What Russia understands is that actions have consequences. Those consequences are real. They are not in Russia’s interests, and having a conflict does not benefit anyone. let me add this. President Biden, who is he spoke to President Putin in Geneva a few months ago, said that our strong preference in the United States is to have a stable and predictable relationship with Russia. Russia moving aggressively against Ukraine again would move in exactly the opposite direction from stable and predictable. I don’t think that’s good for any of us, but the president was equally clear if Russia chooses to act recklessly, we will respond. “
Efi Koutsokosta:
“Could you just refer to the sanctions? And I’ll tell you that you, the EU and the US already have sanctions in place. So what makes you believe that this time the sanctions will work because Putin doesn’t seem to change course?”
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States:
“A lot of things that we are seeing, I think, would have a very high impact and they are things that we have not done in the past and that we have refrained from doing, and Russia is very aware of what the universe of the possible is when it comes to that, and I leave it like that. “
Efi Koutsokosta “
“Don’t you want to be more specific about what you plan to do?”
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States:
“No, not in public.”
Efi Koutsokosta:
“But Russia is suspicious of Ukraine joining NATO. So the United States will support Ukraine to join NATO?”
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States:
“This dates back to the founding of NATO and the Washington Treaty which made it clear that the doors of the alliance would be open to those seeking to join and could again meet the criteria. So we have reaffirmed this again at the meeting more recent NATO. The door to NATO is open. But this does not pose a threat to Russia because again, I emphasize that ours is a defensive alliance. It is a transparent alliance. It is not directed against Russia. It is not a threat to Russia. And indeed, unfortunately, the only aggressive actions that we have seen in the Euro-Atlantic area in recent years have been Russian aggression against Georgia and then against Ukraine. And we don’t need to see a repeat of that in Ukraine again. “
Efi Koutsokosta:
“We have also seen an increase in tensions along Europe’s borders, in particular with Belarus, and what the EU is saying is a hybrid attack with thousands of immigrants forced to go to Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. So, Do you really think Russia is now the biggest? Threat to Europe and the West? ”
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States:
“Well, by his actions, including some of the actions that he is taking in the past, as well as the threat of actions that we are seeing in Ukraine, he poses a real problem and it does not have to be and should not be.” That way. We are also working together in areas where our interests overlap, for example, in my conversation today with Foreign Minister Lavrov, we discussed Iran and our mutual interest in seeing that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon. in fact, we are working well together with European partners, as well as with China in the Vienna talks. We are also working together in the Caucasus, where we both have an interest in Azerbaijan and Armenia, resolving in a lasting and lasting way the differences over Nagorno. Karabakh, as well as their broader relationship. So I think we have to be able to work together on things that are in our mutual interest, but things like the renewed aggression against Ukraine make it very, very difficult. “
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism