Russian Ambassador: Moscow wants to ‘stabilize’ relations with US, warns against sending weapons to Ukraine
Russia’s Ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov, told the Russian 24 TV Channel that Russia hopes not only “to stabilize, which is what we want now… but to develop” relations with the United States.
Last week in an interview with Politico, Antonov admitted that he hasn’t had a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the former departed for Washington in 2017.
“Frankly, we are in a blockade,” Antonov says of himself and the embassy. “When I came to Washington, my idea was to use the word ‘improvement’. Now I prefer to use the word ‘stabilization.’”
During his interview with Russian 24 on Monday, Antonov warned Washington against sending more arms to Ukraine. "We stressed the unacceptability of this situation when the United States of America pours weapons into Ukraine, and we demanded an end to this practice,” Antonov stated.
“What the Americans are doing is pouring oil on the flames,” Antonov added. “I see only an attempt to raise the stakes, to aggravate the situation, to see more losses.”
The Ambassador also noted an official diplomatic note had been sent to Washington expressing these concerns.
On Monday, Vladimir Putin told RIA Novosti, “the task of splitting Russian society… is coming to the fore in the West, but this is not working.”
Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia’s “special military operation”, the Kremlin’s euphemism for the invasion of Ukraine, is necessary because Washington is using Kyiv to threaten Russia.
The US has provided approximately $6.4 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since 2014, $3.7 billion being allotted since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of this year.