Putin reiterates Ukraine must implement the Minsk Package of Measures
Washington D.C./Moscow: Reiterating its commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of all countries to determine their own foreign policy and alliances, the United States today urged Russia for immediate de-escalation and the withdrawal of troops and equipment from Ukraine’s borders.
The US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken today spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to follow up on the U.S written response to Russia’s security proposals.
Blinken emphasized that further invasion of Ukraine would be met with swift and severe consequences and urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path.
Lavrov called on his counterpart to use US influence on the Ukrainian authorities to compel them to fully implement the Minsk Agreements instead of ratcheting up the aggressive rhetoric and loading up the Armed Forces of Ukraine with various types of weapons, the Russian foreign ministry stated.
Giving details of their talks, US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said the Secretary emphasized the US willingness, bilaterally and together with Allies and partners, to continue a substantive exchange with Russia on mutual security concerns, “which we intend to do in full coordination with our partners and Allies”.
Lavrov emphasised the imperative character of Russia’s demands that all OSCE [the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] countries faithfully abide by the commitment not to enhance their security at the expense of the security of others, including NATO’s non-expansion and non-deployment of offensive weapons near Russian borders.
Opportunities to continue working on security guarantees were discussed in light of the current proposals under consideration, Russia said.
Also read: Russia writes to US, and other nations expressing concern about tension in its borders
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin today emphasized the need for the Ukraine authorities to take “concrete steps” in order to implement the Minsk Package of Measures. Putin, who had a telephonic conversation with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, addressed Draghi’s concerns about the developments related to Ukraine, and gave an appraisal of actions taken by Kiev, which Kremlin claimed, “is evading compliance with its commitments regarding, primarily, political aspects of resolving the domestic conflict in Ukraine”.
Putin discussed with Draghi the development of long-term legally binding security guarantees for the Russian Federation and outlined Russia’s key approaches regarding this matter, emphasising the importance of observing the fundamental principle of indivisibility of security, enshrined in the OSCE documents that were signed at the highest level.
Putin reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to further ensure stable supplies of Russian natural gas to Italy, and also expressed satisfaction with the outcome of his recent meeting, held via videoconference, with leading Italian entrepreneurs. The leaders agreed to continue the dialogue in the interests of advancing mutually beneficial Russian-Italian relations, Kremlin said.
– global bihari bureau
