Blinken talks "candid" discussion with Lavrov over Ukraine tensions, Iran nuclear intentions

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had warned his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday of “severe consequences” if Russian troops invaded Ukraine at a press conference following the bilateral meeting of Russian and US diplomats at the OSCE in Stockholm.

Blinken mentioned potential “costly” economic sanctions against Moscow if it “takes further aggressive actions”. He called Russia for de-escalation by “reversing the recent troop build-up, returning forces to normal peacetime positions and refraining from further intimidation and further attempts to destabilise Ukraine.” He added that Washington was watching the situation on Russian-Ukrainian borders closely and was in constant contact with its allies. Blinken additionally stated that US and Russian Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin would discuss the Ukrainian crisis directly in the near future.

Regarding ongoing talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Blinken said that it would be known in “the very near future” whether Tehran intends to engage “in good faith”.

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SOT, Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State: “Here in Stockholm I also had a chance to meet with Foreign Minister Kuleba from Ukraine and Foreign Minister Lavrov from Russia. As I said yesterday in Riga as well as in my meetings today, the United States and our allies and partners are deeply concerned by evidence that Russia has made plans for significant aggressive moves against Ukraine including efforts to destabilise Ukraine from within and large-scale military operations. We have seen this playbook before in 2014, when Russia last invaded Ukraine. Despite uncertainty about intentions and timing we must and we will prepare for all contingencies while working to see to it that Russia reverses course.”

SOT, Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State: “We also affirmed that despite a massive Russian desinformation campaign, Ukraine is in no-way posing threat to Russia or seeking a confrontation that justify a Russian military intervention. The only threat is that of renewed Russian aggression towards Ukraine. In my meeting with Foreign Minister Lavrov I made very clear our deep concerns and our resolve to hold Russia responsible for these actions including our commitment to work with European allies to impose severe cost and consequences on Russia if it takes further aggressive actions against Ukraine.”

SOT, Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State: “Foreign Minister Lavrov and I had candid exchanges on our different perspectives. We agreed to report those back to our presidents who may have an opportunity to speak directly in the near future. It’s now on Russia to deescalate the current tensions by reversing the recent troops build-up, returning forces to normal peace time positions and refraining from further intimidation and attempts to destabilise Ukraine. We are watching the situation very closely, we are in close contact and coordination with our allies.”

SOT, Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State: “As I conveyed again to Foreign Minister Kuleba today, the United States remain unwavering in our support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, its sovereignty, its independence. We discussed Ukraine’s commitment to implementing the Minsk agreements, which we believe represent the best avenue for a diplomatic resolution to this potential crisis.”

SOT, Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State: “I think in a very near future, the next day or so, we will be in a position to judge whether Iran actually intends now to engage in good faith. I have to tell you recent moves, recent rhetoric do not give us a lot of cause for optimism. But even though the hour is getting very very late, it’s not too late for Iran to reverse course and engage meaningfully in an effort to return to the mutual compliance with the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). What Iran can’t do is sustain the status quo of building their nuclear programme while dragging their feet on talks. That will not happen. That’s also not only our view alone - it’s very clearly the view of our European partners. I have to say I have had a good conversation as well with Foreign Minister Lavrov about this, I think Russia shares our basic perspective on this. We will see what happens over the next couple of days but it’s up to Iran to demonstrate and to demonstrate quickly.”

#Sweden #Stockholm #Blinken #Lavrov #Ukraine

Video ID: 20211202-054

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