U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during NATO Foreign Ministers' summit in Riga, Latvia on December 1, 2021. RIGA, Dec 1, Reuters - The United States is deeply concerned by the fact that Russia has made plans for aggressive moves against Ukraine and will respond with a range of high impact economic measures if Moscow invades, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
After a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Latvian capital Riga on Wednesday, Blinken said Russia's plans included efforts to destabilise Ukraine from within as well as large-scale military operations.
Blinken gave the clearest U.S. assessment yet on what Russian President Vladimir Putin might be intending, setting the stage for a tense meeting between top U.S. diplomat and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday.
In recent weeks Russia has stepped up planning for potential military action in Ukraine, including positioning tens of thousands of additional combat troops near the Ukrainian border, according to Blinken, the most forceful U.S. comments on Russia's recent moves.
Russia has previously said its posture towards Ukraine is purely defensive and it has accused Kyiv of plotting to recapture by force areas held by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv denies this charge.
Ukraine urged NATO on Wednesday to prepare further economic sanctions on Moscow to deter any Russian invasion. Blinken said Putin was putting in place the capacity to invade Ukraine and that the United States must prepare for all contingencies, though he said it was not known whether the Russian leader had made the decision to invade.
He said that we made it clear to the Kremlin that we will respond resolutely, including with a range of high impact economic measures that we have refrained from using in the past.
Blinken said that there was tremendous solidarity within the NATO alliance in willingness to pursue strong measures if Russia invades Ukraine.
If Russia rejects diplomacy and re-enforce Ukraine, we will be prepared to act, he said.