Blinken warns Russia of severe costs if it invades Ukraine

US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken has warned Moscow of the severe costs it would pay if it invaded Ukraine, urging his Russian counterpart to seek a diplomatic exit from the crisis.

Antony Blinken on Thursday, delivered the warning to Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov at what he called a candid meeting in Stockholm, Sweden.

He announced that, it was likely that Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin would speak soon.

“I made very clear our deep concerns and our resolve to hold Russia responsible for its actions, including our commitment to work with European allies to impose severe costs and consequences on Russia if it takes further aggressive action against Ukraine. 

“It’s now on Russia to de-escalate the current tensions by reversing the recent troop build-up, returning forces to normal peacetime positions and refraining from further intimidation and attempts to destabilise Ukraine,” Blinken mentioned.

Blinken’s remarks were a reiteration of the Biden administration’s view that Russia is making plans to do something nefarious to Ukraine.

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Kamila/Al-Jazeera