U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry KulebaKIEV, Feb. 4 Minister Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba held a telephone conversation on Friday with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the parties discussed contacts with the Russian Federation, the dynamics of negotiations within the Normandy format and sanctions against Russia. On Thursday, the US administration held closed briefings on the situation around Ukraine for both chambers Congress, where work is underway on bills on unprecedented sanctions against Russia.Ukrainians are disillusioned with the United States because of «bad advice» «They noted significant progress in the preparation of coordinated Euro-Atlantic sanctions against the Russian Federation and the completion of this work. The parties discussed the dynamics of negotiations within the Normandy format and expressed the hope that the Russian Federation will demonstrate a constructive position in the next rounds of negotiations,» the parties said. in the message. It is specified that Kuleba expressed gratitude to the Secretary of State and the American people «for the unprecedented assistance» that the United States has provided and continues to provide to Ukraine to strengthen the state's defense capability. «/>Ukraine is hooked on the Russian buckwheat needle» The Secretary of State confirmed the work of the administration (US President — ed.) Joseph Biden to provide additional US assistance to strengthen the economic and financial confidence of Ukraine in the face of the negative impact of security risks from the Russian Federation on its economy. Dmitry Kuleba thanked the American side for the transfer of information to Ukraine about the possible preparation by the Russian Federation of fabricated reasons for aggravation. The Minister and the Secretary of State agreed that the publication of such information helps prevent the implementation of such plans in reality and agreed to continue to cooperate in this area, «the Foreign Ministry noted. The so-called Normandy format Negotiations on Ukraine have existed since June 2014. Then, during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy, the leaders of Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France discussed the settlement of the conflict in Donbass for the first time. The previous summit was held in Paris on December 9, 2019. Recently, the parties at various levels have been discussing the prospects for interaction in this format. in connection with the alleged increase in «aggressive actions» by Russia near the borders of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying that it does not threaten anyone and is not going to attack anyone, and statements about «Russian aggression» are used as an excuse to deploy more NATO military equipment near Russian borders. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously noted that statements The West about «Russian aggression» and the possibility of helping Kiev defend itself against it is both ridiculous and dangerous. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is moving troops within its territory and at its own discretion. According to him, this does not threaten anyone and should not bother anyone.
