Moscow refutes as unacceptable any ambitions to see Ukraine becoming member of NATO and believes that the US plans for military help to Kiev will only worsen the situation in southeastern Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said in a tweet commenting the newly announced US-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Antonov cautioned that Washington’s intentions to provide Kiev with deadly weapons could only add fuel to Ukraine’s bloody civil conflict, decreasing the chances for a lasting peace agreement.
Russia’s ambassador stressed that the ‘Strategic Partnership Document’ signed by the US and Ukrainian diplomats is just a set of harmful slogans in which there’s a geopolitical tool to oppose Russia.
The Charter that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba signed earlier that day, envisions Washington to recommit to its policy of recognizing Kiev’s territorial claims over Crimean peninsula.
The document also declares Biden administration’s intention to deepen the strategic partnership with Ukraine by expanding bilateral cooperation in several spheres.
According to the Charter, the US would also maintain its sanctions against Russia as well as other relevant measures until the territorial integrity of Ukraine is fully restored, reaffirming its full support for diplomatic resolution to the Eastern Ukraine’s conflict in and Ukraine’s NATO aspirations.
Secretary Blinken stressed at the joint press conference with Kuleba that the US would continue to provide security assistance to Ukraine, including “lethal defensive weapons to defend against any Russian aggression.”
Blinken pointed that the US was concerned about unusual Russian military activity near Ukraine’s border, adding that those activities are “monitored very closely” by Washington that’s seeking to de-escalate tensions between the two countries.
Meanwhile, UN’s mission slammed Kiev recently after launching a crackdown against a number of popular Russian-language channels broadcast from within Ukraine without judicial due process.
It said that these decisions are not in line with international standards on the right to freedom of expression and the government failed to demonstrate the necessity and proportionality of these restrictions.
Be the first to comment