Blinken and Lavrov meet in Sweden to discuss crisis in Ukraine

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there would be “serious consequences” if Russia continued to confront Ukraine.

Blinken and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, who came to the Swedish capital Stockholm for the 28th Foreign Ministers Council Meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), made a statement to the press before their bilateral meeting.

Blinken noted that a “critical moment” has been reached in the crisis over Russia’s build-up on the Ukrainian border, and that the United States and many in Europe are “deeply concerned by Russia’s plan to repeat its aggression against Ukraine.”

Blinken stated that the best solution to the crisis is diplomacy and therefore he is looking forward to meeting with his Russian counterpart, and stressed that if Russia continues to confront Ukraine, there will be “serious consequences”.

Blinken stated that they prefer to have a stable and predictable relationship with Russia, and that this is the best for both countries and the world.

US Secretary of State Blinken also stated that in his meeting with Lavrov, he plans to discuss the revival of the nuclear agreement with Iran, the reconciliation between the parties on increasing stability and security on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the release of US prisoners in Russia.

Lavrov, on the other hand, signaled that the Kremlin administration is ready to resolve the crisis on the Ukrainian border and does not want conflict, emphasizing that their response to NATO’s further enlargement will be to guarantee Russia’s legitimate security interests.

Emphasizing that the tension in Europe has increased recently and that the only way to normalize the situation will be to find a balance of interests, the Russian Foreign Minister said that he hoped to reach an agreement on this issue in his meeting with Blinken today.