Blinken threatens coordinated sanctions on Russia over Ukraine

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said Russia is the aggressor against Ukraine and faces coordinated, global sanctions if it fails to reverse its military posture on the border.

“Ukraine is in no way posing a threat to Russia, or seeking a confrontation that would justify a Russian military intervention. The only threat is that of renewed Russian aggression toward Ukraine,” Blinken said during a press conference in Stockholm.

The secretary made his remarks after meetings with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, followed by a face-to-face with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe conference. 

The U.S., NATO and other allies have for weeks heightened their concern about Russia since Ukraine raised alarm on Nov. 3 that Moscow had amassed an estimated 90,000 troops on its border. 

Blinken said he held a sober, “very direct, very candid, non-polemical exchange of views,” with Lavrov and said he expected that both President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin would speak directly in the near future in an effort to de-escalate tensions on Russia’s border with Ukraine.

Blinken said he communicated directly with Lavrov that the U.S. expects Russia to reverse its recent troop buildup on the border “to normal peacetime positions” and pull back actions of intimidation and attempts to destabilize Ukraine, including a “massive disinformation” campaign conducted by Moscow. 

The secretary further said that the U.S. is prepared to work with European allies “to impose severe costs and consequences on Russia” if it takes aggressive action against Ukraine, citing “high-impact economic measures.”

“I think Moscow knows very well the universe of what’s possible,” Blinken said.

Russia has painted a different picture of the situation in the east, accusing NATO and Ukraine of escalating tensions against Russia and prompting its military buildup as a defensive posture.

Moscow views efforts by Ukraine to more closely associate itself with Western countries, and possibly join NATO, as an unacceptable provocation.

“NATO’s extension … will infringe upon our security, obviously,” Lavrov said, standing alongside Blinken ahead of their bilateral meeting. 

Yet both sides appeared to voice support for diplomacy through the Minsk agreement, established in 2014 after Russia invaded Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and annexed the territory — a move that has been rejected by the majority of the international community.

Along with Russia’s hold on Crimea, Ukrainian forces have battled Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country.