On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary Lis Truss condemned the Kremlin ‘”rhetoric of aggression and arson” against Ukraine and NATO, but expressed satisfaction with Moscow’s willingness to take part in the talks.
In a statement issued after a press conference by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the British diplomat stressed that “strengthening Russian military capabilities on its borders with Ukraine and in illegally annexed Crimea is unacceptable.”
“Any Russian incursion will be a serious strategic error and will be fought with force,” he continued, “especially with the aim of imposing higher prices on Russia’s interests and the economy, through integrated sanctions with our allies.”
Commenting on the “defensive nature of NATO”, the Minister said, “Dialogue is the only way out of the current situation.” “I celebrate Russia’s willingness to hold talks in January,” he added.
At a news conference on Thursday, Putin described the United States’ initial reaction to Russia’s demand for a mitigation of the Western-Russian crisis in Ukraine.
“With this first positive reaction (American), with the announcement that talks will begin in January (in Geneva), I hope we will allow progress to be made,” he said.
Two days after the Russian leader threatened Westerners with “military and technical measures” if his demands were not met, he insisted that Russia would not tolerate any Western weapons organization “at (its) doors”.
