Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told reporters about the American view of relations with the Russian Federation. He also stated that Washington did not give up the idea of ​​expelling him from the country. The United States is using this threat as leverage to bargain for Russian visas for members of its diplomatic missions.

Expulsion of diplomats

“I reaffirm this American position. Indeed, the situation, as it was when I first said this, is how it has remained today, ”Antonov told reporters on Wednesday.

Earlier in January, the ambassador said the US had raised the question of his expulsion if Russia did not issue visas to the guards of the US ambassador in Moscow. “This means that the Americans do not rule out the possibility of choosing a development path that involves lowering the level of the diplomatic presence in Moscow and Washington,” the diplomat said at the time.

On February 6, a diplomat on the YouTube channel Soloviev Live said that by June 30, 28 more Russian diplomats would be forced to leave the United States.

He recalled that 27 diplomats had already left Washington last week. “It was said that you were recommended, ordered to leave the United States,” Antonov said.

At the same time, the American side threatened arrests in case of non-compliance with deadlines. According to Antonov, such actions of the US authorities are “a real expulsion.”

In October 2021, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reported that the United States had demanded the departure of 55 more Russian diplomats and administrative and technical staff of diplomatic missions. According to her, taking into account the demands for the expulsion of Russians, the situation on the diplomatic “front” will only worsen.

H4 Interparty consensus / h4 During a press conference on Wednesday, the Russian Ambassador to the United States also said that new anti-Russian sanctions are being prepared in Washington. But the question of when they will be applied remains open.

“Today it is difficult to say what the Democrats and Republicans will come to. The feeling is that sanctions will be developed. The only question is when they will be introduced,” he explained.

According to him, there is a cross-party consensus in the United States regarding Russia, and the debate is only about how to hit it harder.

“There is a competition between senators and congressmen about who is ready to hit Russia harder, to propose some kind of sanctions that would cause serious damage to the economic and political image of our country,” he said.

The Russian Ambassador to Washington also noted that new contacts between the Presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, are not ruled out, but work on their organization is not yet underway.

“Practical work on this subject is not being carried out, but such contacts cannot be ruled out. They are simply in demand. All contacts are in demand at any level,” Antonov explained.

Back to news »

“False news”

Ambassador Antonov also called “insinuations and false news” the talk about Russian escalation plans around Ukraine. He clarified that, for his part, he constantly denies such accusations in contacts with the American authorities.

“None of the Russian top representatives have ever said that Russia is going to attack some state. All this is insinuation, all this is false news. We talk about this all the time,” Antonov stressed.

He said that the day before he had several similar meetings.

“Clearly I start the conversation with a smile that neither today, nor tomorrow, nor the day after tomorrow, Russia will attack Ukraine. "Any more questions for me?" I ask and look my colleagues straight in the face. And now let's talk about serious things," the diplomat said.

The West has repeatedly accused Russia of allegedly preparing an invasion of the territory of Ukraine. As an argument, Western politicians use the fact that the Russian Federation has increased its presence in the border areas with Ukraine - up to 125,000 soldiers.

Moscow denies all accusations and emphasizes that any movement of troops across the country's territory is a sovereign matter. NATO and the alliance's allies think otherwise and are preparing a package of sanctions in the event of an invasion.

bbabo.Net