Antony Blinken Cancels Meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov: ‘Does Not Make Sense’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday he will not go forward with a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In remarks at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kulbea, Blinken said:

Last week I agreed to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov this week on Feb. 24 to discuss our countries’ respective concerns about European security but only if Russia did not invade Ukraine.

Now that we see the invasion is beginning and Russia has made clear its wholesale rejection of diplomacy, it does not make sense to go forward with that meeting at this time. I consulted with our allies and partners, all agree.

And today I sent Foreign Minister Lavrov a letter informing him of this. The United States and I personally remain committed to diplomacy if Russia’s prepared to take demonstrable steps to provide the international community with any degree of confidence that it’s serious about de-escalating and finding a diplomatic solution. We will proceed in coordination with allies and partners based on Russia’s actions and the facts on the ground. But we will not allow Russia to claim the pretext of diplomacy at the same time it accelerates its march down the path of conflict and war. There is no question what has happened here.

Blinken’s remarks came hours after President Joe Biden blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech and actions over the Donbas and Luhansk regions of Eastern Ukraine, which Russia recognized on Monday as independent.

Since then, Russian forces have invaded Ukraine as reportedly there are as many as 190,000 Russian troops along Ukraine’s border. On Tuesday, the United States and its allies announced numerous moves including sanctions against Russia.

Watch above, via MSNBC.