The head of the US State Department, Anthony Blinken, said that a hypothetical Russian attack on Ukraine would begin with a Russian provocation. His words are reported by RIA Novosti.

“It should not surprise anyone if Russia organizes a provocation or an incident, which then uses it to justify the originally planned military action,” he said after meeting with the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan.

Blinken added that he had warned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that in the event of an invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation would expect a “quick”, “unified” and “hard” response from the United States and its allies.

The US Secretary of State stressed that the Ukrainian crisis can still be resolved through diplomacy.

“The diplomatic way to resolve this crisis remains open. The way Moscow can show that it wants to go down this path is simple: it should de-escalate, not escalate,” he said.

Earlier, the White House said that American leader Joe Biden "made it clear" to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the last conversation that an armed conflict with Ukraine would result in serious sanctions.

bbabo.Net