Intimidation from the USA to Russia: We are ready to make Russia pay a heavy price
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Moscow to end its military plans, stating that they would make Russia pay a heavy price if it followed the path of conflict over Ukraine.
Blinken held a press conference after the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting held in Riga, the capital of Latvia.
“NATO is critical to our security. It is built on shared values. It is a powerful force for stability in Europe and North America,” the US Secretary of State said.
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Expressing that Russia has increased its preparations for a potential military operation plan in Ukraine in recent weeks, Blinken said, “We are deeply concerned about the signs that Russia is making plans for significant aggressive moves against Ukraine.”
Blinken also stated that Russia’s anti-Ukrainian social media propaganda was observed to have reached a level of more than 10 times, noting that this approached the situation before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
“At the moment, we do not know whether President (Vladimir) Putin has taken the decision to invade,” said Blinken, emphasizing that the United States, including Putin, is in intense contact with everyone involved.
Blinken said, “We are ready to make Russia pay a heavy price in case it acts more aggressively against Ukraine,” and continued as follows:
We urge Russia to reverse its latest military build-up, withdraw heavy weapons and forces from the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, refrain from further intimidation and destabilization of Ukraine, and abandon its military action plans in order to return its forces to their normal, peacetime positions.
“We have made it clear that if Russia takes the path of confrontation on Ukraine, we will respond decisively, including by taking a number of high-impact economic measures that we have avoided in the past,” but declined to elaborate on the measures.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated the following about the situation in Afghanistan:
On our part, since September 1, the United States has facilitated the departure of 470 US citizens, as well as 417 permanent legal residents and other Afghans at risk. About 83,000 Afghans came to the United States.
Referring to the situation in Belarus, Blinken said, “The USA is preparing additional sanctions in close coordination with the European Union and other partners. We call on the regime to immediately stop using immigrants as a political weapon.”
