US, Allies prepare swift response if Russia moves across Ukrainian border: Blinken
Jan 20, 2022
Washington [US], January 20 (ANI/Sputnik): If the Russian military crosses the border with Ukraine, the United States and its allies will be quick to mount a severe response, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.
"We have been very clear - if any Russian military forces move across Ukraine border and commit new acts of aggression against Ukraine, that will be met with a swift, severe united response from us and our allies and partners," he said at a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
Blinken noted that he is planning to represent the shared view of the US and European partners to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov when they meet in Geneva on Friday.
"In 2014 when Russia invaded Ukraine, we responded to those aggressive actions, part of that response was to provide defensive assistance to Ukraine to make sure that if Russia continues aggression, Ukraine will have to defend itself," Blinken said.
On Wednesday, Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev. The sides discussed American and international security assistance to Kiev, with Blinken underscoring the US commitment to diplomacy, alongside readiness "to impose severe costs for further Russian aggression against Ukraine."
Russia has on many occasions dismissed the allegations that it is preparing to invade Ukraine, pointing to the insecurity created by NATO's military activity in the region. Moscow reiterates that it has no intention of attacking any country, viewing the accusations as a pretext for deploying more alliance's military equipment close to Russian borders. (ANI/Sputnik)
