The U.S. Department of State’s rhetoric, aimed at blaming Moscow, does not contribute to a constructive dialogue in the Russian-U.S. talks, Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov said on Wednesday.
"The accusatory rhetoric of senior State Department officials does not lead to creating a constructive atmosphere in the negotiations. <…> We need concrete actions by the American side, not disinformation or accusations of all the sins," the Russian envoy noted. Antonov also stated that "it was time to stop the policy of encouraging the fascist thugs marching in Kiev."
The Russian-U.S. consultations on security guarantees took place on January 9-10 in Geneva. The meeting of the NATO-Russia Council is scheduled for January 12 in Brussels, while the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Permanent Council in Vienna will be held on January 13.
There has been a flurry of statements in the West and Kiev lately that Russia could invade Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they were unsubstantiated escalation and that Russia doesn’t threaten anyone. At the same time, he didn’t rule out provocations to corroborate these Western statements and warned that the use of force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine will have serious consequences.
