“I see no reason to be intimidated as long as the talks are ongoing, unless the United States provides us with information that justifies the decision” to leave Ukraine, Borrell said upon arriving at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers, which included the participation of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken via video.
A senior US official announced to the press, on Sunday evening, “We believe that a Russian invasion (…) could happen at any moment,” as part of her justification for the US order to withdraw the families of US diplomats in Kiev.
Borrell added: “Blinken will explain this decision to us during the meeting in which the US Secretary of State will inform the attendees of the frank talks he held Friday with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.”
“We have not taken any decision to request the families of our diplomats to leave Ukraine unless we have provided Blinken with information justifying such a step,” Borrell said.
Ukraine: Washington’s move “premature”
For its part, Ukraine stressed that the US decision to evacuate the families of its diplomats in Kiev was “premature” in light of fears of a possible Russian invasion.
Washington allowed non-essential embassy staff to leave “voluntarily” and urged US citizens to leave the former Soviet country.
“We consider that such a step by the US side is premature and reflects excessive caution,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said in a statement.
He added that there had been no recent “dramatic changes” in the security situation in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian army since 2014.
“The Russian Federation is currently making active efforts to destabilize the internal situation in Ukraine,” Nikolenko said.
He pointed out that the media was spreading “misleading information” and “sowing panic among Ukrainians and foreigners.”
“In this situation, it is imperative that the risks are consciously assessed and calm is maintained,” he added.
Britain is following in America’s footsteps
In this context, the British Foreign Office announced that it would withdraw some of its staff and their relatives from its embassy in Ukraine in response to the “escalating Russian threat” to invade Kiev.
She noted that the embassy itself would remain open for “essential business”, after the United States ordered the families of all American employees at its embassy in Kiev to leave.
.