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US State Department: ‘Russia is the aggressor here’

By Kyiv Post.
A Ukrainian serviceman stands at his position on the frontline with Russian-backed seperatists near the small city of Marinka, Donetsk region, on April 20, 2021. - An emergency meeting between Russia, Ukraine and separatists was under way on April 20, 2021, in an effort to defuse soaring tensions over Russia's troop buildup along the ex-Soviet country's borders. A spokesman for the Ukrainian delegation told AFP that progress had been made on efforts to restore a ceasefire that was agreed last July but upended by a recent spate of clashes between Ukrainian troops and Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. (Photo by Aleksey Filippov / AFP)
Photo by AFP

Editor’s Note: The following are excerpts from the April 20, 2021, U.S. State Department briefing by spokesman Ned Price. The entire transcript is here.

QUESTION: — on them? Okay. And then also on the Ukraine military buildup, does the Secretary or the State Department or the administration have an official view, or do you have any thoughts on why they’re doing this?

MR PRICE: Well, I wouldn’t want to get into the motivations of the Russians. I – there may be assessments within the U.S. Government. Rather than speak to the motivations of the Russian Federation, I would speak to what we are concerned about, and what we are doing about it. And it goes without saying that we are deeply concerned by Russia’s ongoing aggressive actions and rhetoric against Ukraine. As we’ve talked about last week when the Secretary was in Brussels meeting with his NATO counterparts, as I mentioned the week before that from here, these actions include credible reports of Russian troop buildup in occupied Crimea and around Ukraine’s borders. And importantly, we are now seeing a presence of Russian troops at levels not seen since Russia’s invasion in 2014, as well as continued attacks and other provocative actions by Russian-led forces at the line of control.

So let me be clear: Russia is the aggressor here. We have seen no indication whatsoever that Ukraine is engaging in provocations or escalating intentions – tensions. What we have seen is a Russian disinformation campaign designed to falsely blame Ukraine for the Kremlin’s own actions. This was one of the primary discussions in Brussels last week at NATO Headquarters. It featured in every discussion the Secretary had. The NATO alliance is resolute. We are – we spoke with one voice as we continue to stand by our partner Ukraine, and of course, the Secretary last week had a meeting in Brussels to meet with Foreign Minister Kuleba, his Ukrainian counterpart. We – the Secretary relayed that message in private, made clear that the United States Government stands by Ukraine. We will continue to support the government and the people of Ukraine in the face of what appears to be intimidation.

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