US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken . File photoWASHINGTON, May 21. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and First Deputy Wendy Sherman met with Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Hamed bin Salman in Washington to discuss energy markets and support for Ukraine, the State Department said.According to According to the agency, the parties discussed «the ongoing US commitment to strengthening the defense of Saudi Arabia and ongoing efforts to counter the threat from Iran and maintain strong support for Ukraine.» >Aimed at Russia — hit the dollar Another topic of discussion was «pressure on global energy markets», the cause of which the State Department links with the situation in Ukraine. At a meeting in Washington, the parties discussed ways to combat this pressure, the State Department noted. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
