Bloomberg: 'Verbal Tension' Between Lavrov, Blinken over Ukraine
US-based Bloomberg reports a sharp 'Verbal Tension' between the Russian FM and his US counterpart. It quotes Lavrov as saying: NATO and the EU are suppressing dissenting opinion and threatening Russia.
US-based Bloomberg reported that a "testy exchange" occurred between the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Russian FM Sergey Lavrov, over Ukraine, during a dinner in the presence of dozens of foreign ministers this week.
Bloomberg quoted two people, describing them as "familiar" with the discussion, as saying that "Lavrov took the floor at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) dinner in Stockholm on Dec. 1 to revisit Russia’s view that the collapse of a pro-Moscow administration in Ukraine in 2014 was a coup."
Lavrov said that NATO and the EU were "suppressing dissent and threatening Russia."
Last November 26, the Chairperson-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Swedish FM Ann Linde, announced the attendance of the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the Russian FM, Sergey Lavrov, at the organization's meeting.
Tillbaka i Stockholm för att leda OSSE:s utrikesministermöte som samlar utrikesministrar och andra representanter från de 57 OSSE-länderna. Bland deltagarna finns utrikesministrar från Nordamerika, Europa och Centralasien, inklusive från Ryssland och USA.https://t.co/PfaEbKcNxD
— Ann Linde (@AnnLinde) December 1, 2021
Swedish FM Ann Linde announced in a statement that this is the first time since 2017, that the US and Russian ministers attend simultaneously the annual meeting of ministers.