The US and Russia traded threats of “serious consequences” should either side escalate tensions on the Ukrainian border following weeks of rising concerns in the west that a Russian build-up of military activity could spill over into war. This was reported by Bloomberg.
The verbal tension erupted as the U.S. and its European allies sought ways -- including possible sanctions -- to counter the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin’s troop buildup on the neighboring country’s border.
Lavrov took the floor at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe dinner in Stockholm on Dec. 1 to revisit Russia’s view that the collapse of a pro-Moscow administration in Ukraine in 2014 was a coup, according to two of the people. He also alleged that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union were suppressing dissent and threatening Russia.
Antony Blinken responded by recapping the 2014 events, including that forces loyal to then-President Viktor Yanukovich fired on peaceful protesters in Kyiv, killing more than 100 people, before he fled and surfaced in Russia. Blinken also told his Russian counterpart that NATO is a defense alliance.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed suggestions that Blinken won the argument with Lavrov during the exchange at the 57-nation forum. She was responding on Facebook to Ukrainian media reports that Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Blinken had put Lavrov, one of the world’s most senior diplomats, in his place.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, who hosted the dinner preceding an OSCE meeting on Thursday, said on Twitter that the conversation suggested the formal talks would be “lively, brave and truthful.”