The people of Ukraine determine their own future, there is no room for bargaining – Blinken

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US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, said that the Ukrainian people have the right to choose their own future.

This is reported by UA with reference to the press conference of Anthony Blinken.

The US Secretary of State added that Ukraine has the right to make its own decision on joining NATO. Western partners believe that there is no room for bargaining with Russia on this issue.

“I told Lavrov that there are certain principles that the US, as well as our allies and partners, are committed to upholding. This is the right of the Ukrainian people to determine their own future. And there is no room for bargaining” – Blinken said.

Today, January 21, Anthony Blinken met with Sergey Lavrov in Geneva. The negotiations lasted an hour and a half. We discussed the situation near the borders of Ukraine. The United States called on the Russian Federation to take immediate steps to de-escalate. Russia, in turn, was waiting for a written response regarding its demand for non-expansion of NATO to the East.

To remind, US President Joe Biden said that any crossing of the Ukrainian border by Russian units will be considered an invasion, and there will be a “tough and coordinated economic reaction” to this.

Read also: In case of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia will have to pay dearly – Füle forecast