US WARNS RUSSIA OF ‘SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES’
The U.S. warned of “serious consequences” on Tuesday if Russia escalates its conflict with Ukraine as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to mobilize troops on the Ukrainian border.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting with NATO officials in Riga, Latvia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that “any renewed aggression would trigger serious consequences.”
“Any escalatory actions by Russia would be a great concern to the United States,” he continued. “We will be consulting closely with NATO allies and partners in the days ahead … about whether there are other steps that we should take as an alliance to strengthen our defenses, strengthen our resilience, strengthen our capacity.”
Other NATO ministers warn Russia: The comments are just the latest as NATO grows more worried that Russia will invade Ukraine like when it annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
Russia, for its part, has repeatedly brushed off any concerns of an invasion, and has instead accused Ukraine of having aggressive intentions.
Several of NATO’s foreign ministers also warned that any effort to destabilize Ukraine would be costly.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass said NATO will “together send an unmistakable message to the Russian government: NATO’s support for Ukraine is unbroken and its independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty are not up for discussion,” according to The Associated Press.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss similarly reinforced the alliance’s support for Ukraine
We have seen this playbook from the Kremlin before when Russia falsely claimed its illegal annexation of Crimea was a response to NATO aggression,” Truss said in a statement. “NATO is an alliance forged on the principle of defense, not provocation. Any suggestion that NATO is provoking the Russians is clearly false.”
“Any action by Russia to undermine the freedom and democracy that our partners enjoy would be a strategic mistake,” she continued.