Russia has expelled US Deputy Ambassador to Moscow, Bart Gorman, in a move Washington decried as “unprovoked”, the US State Department said on Thursday, amid tensions over the threat of a Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
“We can confirm that Russia expelled the deputy head of the US mission in Russia, Bart Gorman. Gorman was the second-highest-ranking official at the US Embassy,” said a State Department spokesperson, who requested anonymity.
In view of this “unprovoked” measure, which the US government sees as a step in the “escalation” of tensions, the spokesman stressed that Washington is evaluating a “response”.
Also on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend a UN Security Council meeting where he plans to denounce Russia’s ongoing plans for an “imminent invasion” of Ukraine.
The Security Council meeting was convened by Russia, which this month holds the body’s rotating presidency, to discuss the Minsk Accords to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow argues that resolving current tensions largely depends on full implementation of the 2014 diplomatic resolution on the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
Russia promises “measures of a military-technical nature” if West does not negotiate
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated this Thursday that the country will be forced to react, through “technical-military” measures, if there is no willingness on the part of the United States to negotiate security guarantees in Europe.
“In the event that the United States and its allies are not willing to negotiate firm and legally binding guarantees to guarantee our security, Russia will be forced to react, also by adopting measures of a technical-military nature. ”, informed the Russian ministry.
This warning was made by Russia in the letter it delivered this Thursday to the US with its reaction to US responses to Russian security demands in Europe to stop the future expansion of NATO to its borders, and was also published in the diplomacy’s Telegram account. russian.
The letter with the Russian response was delivered to the US ambassador to Moscow, John Sullivan, who traveled to the Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters.
In the document, Russia accuses the US of not giving a constructive response to its security proposals, subverting its essence and seeking advantages for Washington and its allies.
“We declare that the American side has not given a constructive response to the basic elements of the draft treaty with the United States drawn up by the Russian side on security guarantees,” reads the text of the letter.
Moscow admits that the West is willing to start a dialogue on arms control and military risk reduction, but emphasizes that it prefers to find a “integral solution” to the security issues it raises.
“Once again, we draw the attention of the American side to the fact that Russia, in the documents on security guarantees that it presented, proposed to follow the path of an integral long-term solution to the unacceptable situation that is developing in the Euro-Atlantic space”, emphasizes the letter.
To remedy this situation, Russia proposes to create a stable basis for the security architecture in the form of an agreement with NATO in which it states its refusal to take other measures that harm Russia’s security.
This remains a priority for Russia, Moscow stresses in the letter to the US, in which it reiterates that it has no plans to invade Ukraine and “never had”.
By talking about Russia’s responsibility in the escalation in Ukraine, Washington is trying to “pressure” Moscow and devalue its security proposals, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
In this context, to achieve a solution to the Ukrainian crisis, Washington must stop supplying weapons to Kiev and stop carrying out joint military exercises with Ukraine, indicates Moscow.
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