Kuleba, Blinken discuss further steps to deter Russia

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call discussed further steps to deter aggressive actions of the Russian Federation, Ukrinform reports, referring to the MFA’s press service.

In particular, the U.S. Secretary of State shared with Kuleba results of his recent phone conversation with the Russian foreign minister this week.

Kuleba and Blinken agreed on further steps by Ukraine and the United States to implement a strategy to deter Russia from further aggression. They noted significant progress in preparing coordinated Euro-Atlantic sanctions against Russia.

The two officials also discussed the dynamics of negotiations in the Normandy format and said they expect Russia to demonstrate a constructive position during the next rounds of talks.

Kuleba thanked the U.S. Secretary of State and the American people for the unprecedented assistance the United States provided and continues to provide to Ukraine to strengthen its defense capabilities.

The U.S. Secretary of State reaffirmed the work of Joe Biden’s administration to provide additional U.S. assistance to strengthen Ukraine's economic and financial confidence amid the negative impact of security risks from Russia on its economy.

As Ukrinform reported, on January 27, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of the United States Joe Biden had a phone conversation. This was the second phone talk of the two leaders in 2022 and the third in the last two months.

iy