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The Secretary of State arrived in Kiev to meet with President Zelensky over the presence of Russian troops on the shared border. “We remain committed to supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” said Blinken. In addition, the American politician will travel to Berlin for a conclave with the Transatlantic Quad and will complete his diplomatic raid in Geneva, where he will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after unproductive remote meetings.
This Wednesday, January 19, the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, set foot on Ukrainian soil with the mission of reducing the tensions that remain between Moscow and Kiev, where the shared border is occupied by thousands of Russian troops and it is feared that they may go into action at any time, as the West has warned.
The Eastern European country is the first stop that the American diplomat will make in the coming days. There he will meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and his counterpart Dmitro Kuleba, showing US support for the conflicts involving Ukraine.
On his Twitter account, Blinken wrote that they “share a common desire for a hopeful and bright future for all Ukrainians.” In addition, he added that they “firmly accompany the Ukrainian people” and are “committed to supporting” their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The United States is also issuing financial assistance to Ukraine to provide defensive military aid. It is 200 million dollars that the Americans provide as part of the efforts so that Kiev is protected against potential aggressions from Moscow. However, officials from the Joe Biden Administration have not commented on this collaboration approved at the end of last December.
In a speech at the US embassy in Kiev, Blinken also urged the Russian government to resolve this conflict through peaceful and diplomatic means, considering that the harassment of 100,000 soldiers and heavy weapons on the Ukrainian border is being carried out “without reason or provocation.” ”.
Despite the predisposition to dialogue that Russian officials have shown, from Washington they do not perceive that they are lowering the tone of the altercation with Ukraine. Russia even sent additional troops to Belarus, which also has border problems with Kiev, although the official version indicates that the mobilization of soldiers is due to joint exercises already planned.
Blinken repudiated Russian strategies, saying it “challenges very basic principles that underpin the entire international system,” such as that one nation cannot “simply dictate its choices to another, including who it will partner with.”
In its attempts to increase its defensive capabilities in the event of an armed confrontation, Ukraine asked Britain for anti-tank weapons. In addition, look for new reinforcements in other Western nations.
Blinken’s agenda to defuse the Russo-Ukrainian conflict
The problems between Ukraine and Russia have not only aroused the interest of Washington but also that of the other Western European Allies. With this topic at the top of the itinerary, Blinken will travel to Berlin, where he will be received by the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and will hold a conclave of the Transatlantic Quad, the group made up of France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany.
Finally, he will travel to Geneva where he will have a face-to-face meeting with Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister. The Blinken – Lavrov contacts were made remotely last week, but the negotiations did not make progress and both agreed on the convenience of meeting in person.
Among Russia’s demands is the request that it provide guarantees that NATO will not include Ukraine or any other ex-Soviet country within the group of its allies or deploy military forces, a request that Washington rejects.
With Reuters and AP
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