US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Thursday, December 2, said that the United States will assess Russia’s actions towards Ukraine in conjunction with the international community. He also clarified that the United States and Russia can work on “solving problems and lowering temperatures in the region.”
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“We hope that Putin will be more open and they will work to resolve issues and problems and reduce the temperature in the region,” he commented on the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border.
In turn, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned Moscow to withdraw its troops from the Ukrainian border, saying that a Russian invasion would provoke sanctions that would hit Moscow harder than any imposed so far.
Asked whether the consequences for Russia would be purely economic, Austin declined to answer directly, saying only that “best practices” would be used.
“Everything we do will be done as part of the international community. At best, we will not see the Soviet Union invade Ukraine,” Austin said, referring to the Russian Federation.
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