U.S. and EU Discuss Additional Ways To Hold Russia Accountable

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday discussed with EU High Representative Josep Borrell additional ways to hold Russia accountable for its war in Ukraine, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

“Secretary Blinken and High Representative Borrell discussed our shared commitment to support Ukraine and hold Russia accountable for its unjustified war and the resulting global impacts to energy markets and food security,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

The meeting occurred on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Cambodia.

The move came just days after Blinken had a phone call with Russia's Sergei Lavrov, in which he warned the Kremlin against attempts to annex more of Ukraine, stressing that the “world will not recognize annexations” and “will impose additional significant costs on Russia if it moves forward with its plans.”

Both Blinken and Lavrov are currently in Cambodia for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting, and they will likely seek contact on the sidelines of a meeting, White House National Security Council's John Kirby said on Thursday after U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was sentenced to 9 years in prison on drugs charges in Russia.

Blinken, in his turn, issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying that the release of Brittney Griner is “an absolute priority of mine” and that nothing about Russia's decision "changes our determination that Brittney Griner is wrongfully detained, and we will continue working to bring Brittney and fellow wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan home,”

"We will also continue to press for fair and transparent treatment for all U.S. citizen detainees in Russia," he added. "Russia, and any country engaging in wrongful detention, represents a threat to the safety of everyone traveling, working, and living abroad.  The United States opposes this practice everywhere" Blinken noted.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.