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Moscow on Tuesday rejected new talks on Ukraine unless the West responds to its demands, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to fly to Kyiv in a show of support amid fears of a Russian invasion.
Tens of thousands of Russian troops are massed on the border with Ukraine, with Kyiv and the West accusing Moscow of preparing a potential military attack on its pro-Western neighbour.
A week of talks in Geneva, Brussels and Vienna last week failed to ease tensions, with Russia insisting its demands for sweeping security guarantees — including a permanent ban on Ukraine joining NATO – be taken seriously.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that there would be no further negotiations until the West gives it proper answers.
“We are now awaiting responses to these proposals – as we were promised – in order to continue negotiations,” he said at a joint press conference with visiting German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
“Let’s hope these talks will continue,” Lavrov said.
Washington has outright rejected the demands, which also include limits on allied deployments in former Warsaw Pact allies like Poland and the ex-Soviet Baltic states that joined NATO after the Cold War.
The State Department announced that Blinken would fly to Ukraine and meet Wednesday with President Volodymyr Zelensky, to “reinforce the United States’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Blinken will then head Thursday to Berlin for four-way talks with Britain, France and Germany on the Ukraine crisis, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
Belarus military drills
The four countries will discuss “joint efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine, including allies’ and partners’ readiness to impose massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia,”…
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Source : france24
