The historic sanctions package that jointly the international community continues to apply against the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine led the US Foreign Ministry on Friday to predict an unprecedented isolation of Moscow.
“Unless the Kremlin changes course, it will continue down the path of increasing isolation and economic pain,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a news conference.
After meeting with NATO Secretary General Jen Stoltenberg, Blinken told reporters that President Putin’s actions have driven him into unprecedented isolation. “We have never been more united,” he said, referring to NATO’s actions.
Moments earlier, in his meeting with Stoltenberg, Blinken made clear Washington’s position regarding the escalation of Russian forces in Ukrainian territory, a neighboring country of Poland, one of the member states of the Atlantic Alliance. “We are not looking for conflict, but if a conflict comes to us, we are prepared for it and we will defend every inch of NATO territory,” warned the Secretary of State.
Even with the escalation of the conflict by Russia with the bombing of several Ukrainian cities and international revulsion, the US continues to explore diplomatic channels, as the US authorities have reiterated for days.
This Friday, the Defense Department spokesman, John Kirby, said at a press conference that the Pentagon maintains a direct line of communication with Moscow for the resolution of the conflict, in order to lower tensions.
After the attack on important cities such as Kiev, the capital, or Jersón and Járkov. The US maintains monitoring of the attacks on the southern city of Odessa, an important port enclave in the south of the country.
Despite the perseverance of the White House in seeking a diplomatic solution, Kirby assured that no Pentagon official has interacted with his Russian counterparts since the beginning of the invasion on February 24.
On the veracity of Thursday’s attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Kirby assured: “It was clearly violent. Projectiles were clearly used.”
President Vladimir Putin denied on Friday that Russian troops were behind the attacks, calling it “gross propaganda hoaxes,” the Kremlin said.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden held a meeting on Friday with his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, in which he described Helsinki as a “strong defense partner” for its decision to join the sanctions against Russia, without giving still guarantees that this European nation will join NATO.
Earlier, at a press conference, the White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said that the United States maintains its position of “taking measures to defend democracy against autocracy”, and thus “confront the actions of a brutal dictator” who is Vladimir Putin.
*Jeff Seldin, VOA journalist from Washington DC collaborated with this report, which also contains information from the Reuters agency.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel YouTube and turn on notifications, or follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter e Instagram.