Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov. File photoWASHINGTON, Apr 16Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that Washington is trying to threaten Latin American countries to join anti-Russian sanctions and neglect the associated risks for the region. financial institutions and private companies closely associated with the government.» It is clear that the State Department is growing irritated with the independent position of Latin American states that refuse to join the sanctions «crusade» against Russia and have their own vision of the Ukrainian crisis. The purpose of such statements is prosaic: to intimidate their partners with threats of secondary restrictions as punishment for not joining the anti-Russian campaign,» the ambassador said. The events in Ukraine are expected to be part of the agenda for Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's April 19-20 visit to Panama. There he will take part in a regional conference on migration issues and hold a series of bilateral meetings. Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on 24 February. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» bloody crimes against civilians» of Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and, on March 25, they completed the main tasks of the first stage — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
