State Department about canceled meeting with Putin: Strong message has been sent

U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino stated this at a press briefing on Thursday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

“The President’s tweets on the subject were quite clear at what we looked for, and that is the return of the Ukrainian sailors as – and the vessels. The aggression that we’ve witnessed this week is unacceptable and a strong message has been sent,” he said.

Palladino specified that this concerns enhancing isolation of Russia.

He reminded that representatives of NATO, OSCE, European Union “issued strong statements.” According to him, the American side holds talks with partners in the context of Russian aggression.

“They [Russians] must return to Ukraine its vessels and detained crewmembers,” he stressed.

The deputy spokesperson also said that the United States will “continue to drive forward on this and to be firm in our position.”

As Ukrinform reported, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that he had canceled a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Argentina because of the situation in the Kerch Strait.

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