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Blinken again warns Russia of consequences if it "acts recklessly"

Last week, Bloomberg reported that the US had finalized an intelligence review of Russia’s alleged "misdeeds" and were likely to announce a next round of sanctions, including the expulsion of some Russian diplomats

NEW YORK, April 11. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden still says that Russia will have to "pay costs" if it "acts aggressively and recklessly," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with NBC channel on Sunday.

"President Biden is very clear about this. If Russia acts recklessly or aggressively, there will be costs, there will be consequences," Blinken said adding that Biden would keep the word.

When asked about the effectiveness of policy towards Russia under the previous administrations and the possibility to return to Barack Obama’s policy, Blinken answered that it was not possible.

"We cannot go back to four years ago, or six years ago or eight years ago, pick your year. We have to deal with the world as it’s now and as we anticipate it will be," he stressed.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that the US had finalized an intelligence review of Russia’s alleged "misdeeds" and were likely to announce a next round of sanctions, including the expulsion of some Russian diplomats. The White House did not confirm that the report had been completed.

Cooperation with Moscow

Washington stays ready for cooperation with Moscow in the areas of mutual interest, US Secretary of State said.

According to Blinken, US President "clear-eyed about the proposition that, when it comes to Russia, there are areas where our interests align, or certainly overlap, and we have an interest in working together. For example, on arms control, as we did in extending the START Agreement (the US-Russia Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms - TASS).".

The US Administration indicated earlier that in spite of bilateral disagreements, Washington and Moscow could cooperate in key areas. So did the Russian side.

"Despite serious disagreements between our countries, there are issues on which Russia and the US can and should cooperate. It can be proved with the telephone conversation held by Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden, when the heads of state agreed to extend the New START [treaty]," Russia’s Ambassador the US Anatoly Antonov said at the meeting of the Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs and Defense and Security Committees at the end of March.

Russia and the United States signed the New START Treaty in 2010. On February 3, 2021, notes were exchanged with the US embassy in the Russian Foreign Ministry about completion of internal procedures necessary for the New START extension agreement to come into force.

The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the New START extension ensured preservation and further functioning of the core mechanism of maintaining strategic stability on a strictly parity basis limiting the two countries’ missile and nuclear weapon arsenals.