Conflict in Ukraine | Blinken threatens Moscow with high-impact sanctions in case of aggression

(Riga) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured Wednesday he had “evidence” that Moscow was considering an invasion in Ukraine and warned Russia, raising the prospect of painful economic sanctions if it took action.

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for “concrete agreements” preventing NATO’s expansion towards the East and the deployment of its weapons systems near Russian borders, proposing to launch “substantive negotiations. ” on this topic.

At the end of a NATO meeting in Riga, Blinken accused Moscow of assembling “tens of thousands (of) additional soldiers” near the border with Ukraine, on the eve of a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Sweden.

“We are deeply concerned about the evidence that Russia has plans for significant aggressive actions against Ukraine, plans (which) include efforts to destabilize Ukraine from within as well as large-scale military operations Mr. Blinken said.

“We don’t know if President Putin made the decision to invade. We know he’s building the capacity to do it quickly, if he chooses, ”said Blinken.

He insisted that diplomacy was “the only responsible way to resolve this potential crisis”.

“We have made it clear to the Kremlin that we will retaliate, including with a series of high impact economic measures that we have refrained from using in the past,” Blinken warned.

Western allies in Kiev have been sounding the alarm bells since last month over a further build-up of Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders and a possible invasion.

Moscow, which seized Crimea in 2014 and is accused of supporting separatists fighting Kiev, denies planning an attack and in return blames NATO for fueling tensions.

Kiev wants “direct negotiations”

On Wednesday, Moscow retaliated by accusing Ukraine of massing tens of thousands of soldiers in the east of the country.

Vladimir Putin called for negotiations with the West in order to obtain “legal guarantees” against the extension of NATO to the east and the deployment of weapons systems “which threaten us in close proximity. of Russian territory ”.

“We propose to start substantive negotiations on this subject,” he added during a ceremony at the Kremlin.

Allegations made when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for direct talks with Moscow over the conflict with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

“We cannot stop the war without direct negotiations with Russia,” Zelensky told parliament in Kiev.

More than 13,000 people were killed in the war that began in 2014 in eastern Ukraine, part of which has since escaped to Kiev.

But in Moscow, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the idea, reaffirming that the war was an internal problem in Ukraine.

“We are aware of attempts to portray Russia as a party to this conflict. This is not the case, “Peskov told reporters, referring to a war that can only” be “stopped by negotiations between Ukrainians”.

Victoria Nuland, the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, called for a “complete ceasefire” for the Christmas period.

Kremlin “Red Lines”

Mr. Putin warned the West and Kiev against crossing “red lines” concerning the organization of military exercises and the strengthening of armaments in Ukraine.

In Riga, Blinken stressed that NATO allies are ensuring “Ukraine has the means to defend itself”.

The alliance “will examine what it must do in the event of further Russian aggression, to strengthen its own defenses,” he added.

Mr Blinken said Russia was using the same “directions” as when it took control of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014, including stepping up “misinformation” to portray Kiev as the “aggressor” .

The Ukrainian foreign minister urged the alliance in Riga to put in place a “set of deterrent measures” to stop Russia.

The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell for his part considered that it was necessary to make “clear that any aggression against Ukraine would be followed by a firm response”.