Russian ambassador says Putin 'doesn't care' about possible US sanctions over Ukraine

Russia's ambassador to Sweden said President Vladimir Putin "doesn't care" about the sanctions the US and its allies are threatening to impose on Moscow if it invades Ukraine. New York Post.

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“Sorry for the language, but we don’t care about all their sanctions,” Viktor Tatarintsev said in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, published on February 12.

“We already had so many sanctions, and in that sense they had a positive impact on our economy and agriculture,” Tatarintsev said, adding that Russia has become “self-sufficient” and will withstand any economic sanctions imposed by the US and its allies.

“​We are more self-sufficient and have been able to increase our exports. We do not have Italian or Swiss cheeses, but we have learned how to make equally good Russian cheeses according to Italian and Swiss recipes,” he said.​

On the subject: The US believes that Russia will invade Ukraine next week

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said there was still a "diplomatic path" to defuse the crisis in Ukraine, despite an hour-long conversation between President Biden and Putin and the US decision to withdraw US embassy staff from Kiev.

At the same time, the Kremlin is reinforcing the more than 100 troops already stationed along the border with Ukraine, conducting joint military exercises in Belarus, and beefing up its naval presence in the Black Sea.

The level of Russian forces deployed against Ukraine prompted US officials to warn that an attack could happen as early as this week.

Blinken said he spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after the Biden-Putin conversation and confirmed that the US is open to a diplomatic solution, but that it is also ready to take serious steps in the event of a Russian invasion.

“I expressed our grave concern that Moscow might consider a military attack on Ukraine in the coming days. I have made it clear, as President Biden did today with President Putin, that the diplomatic path to resolve this crisis — the crisis caused by the unprovoked concentration of Russian troops around Ukraine — that diplomatic path remains open,” Blinken said late on February 12.

“I also emphasized that if Moscow chooses the path of aggression and continues to invade Ukraine, the reaction of the United States and our allies and partners will be quick, united, tough,” he said.

“President Biden has made it clear that if Russia launches a new invasion of Ukraine, the United States, along with our allies and partners, will respond decisively and impose swift and severe sanctions on Russia,” the White House said in a statement.

It also said the invasion would "bring massive human suffering and weaken Russia's authority," adding that the US and its allies were "equally prepared for other scenarios" if diplomacy failed.

A Putin aide described the call as "balanced and business-like" but said the US has yet to respond to Russia's demand to ban Ukraine and other former Soviet republics from joining NATO.

A senior Biden administration official told a briefing following the Biden-Putin call that Russia's aggressiveness has already created conditions that the Russian leader is trying to change.

Along with the NATO demand, Putin is also seeking guarantees that Western countries will withdraw their forces from Eastern Europe and will not deploy missile systems on Ukrainian territory.

An administration official said that because of the standoff, the US sent 3000 troops to Poland, Germany and Romania and sent millions of dollars worth of military equipment to Ukraine.

On February 11, the Pentagon announced that it would send an additional 3000 troops to Poland.

“Whatever Russia decides, our assessment is that their efforts to improve their strategic position are already failing, and this will only get worse if they decide to take military action,” the official continued.

In Hawaii, Blinken spoke about the evacuation of US Embassy staff from Ukraine.

“The risk of military action from Russia is quite high, and the threat is quite immediate, so this is reasonable. No one should be surprised if Russia provokes an incident, which it then uses to justify the military action that it planned from the very beginning,” he said.

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“The core team will remain in Ukraine with our Ukrainian counterparts as we continue to work tirelessly to resolve this crisis through containment and diplomacy. Our assistance in ensuring the security of Ukraine, as well as assistance to other sectors, such as health care, economic development, all this will continue,” Blinken said.​

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