The US is ready to keep Ukraine neutral, Russia and the EU to tense the gas issue

At a hearing before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Ukraine on April 26, Secretary of State Blinken was questioned by Senator Rand Paul about whether the US would accept Ukraine as a neutral country. and not a NATO member or not. In response, Mr. Blinken said Washington can completely accept this.

“We, Mr. Senator, cannot represent the Ukrainian people more than themselves. These decisions are up to them,” Blinken said, according to the PBS news site. “Our aim is to make sure they have the ability to repel Russian forces and give them an edge at the negotiating table.”

The US secretary of state also alleged that there was no sign that Russia and President Vladimir Putin were “serious about meaningful negotiations”. “If he (President Putin) is serious and if the Ukrainians continue to participate in the negotiations, we will support them.”

Russia responds to Britain, warns EU about gas problems

The Russian Foreign Ministry today (April 27), officially announced an entry ban for 287 British MPs in response to London’s sanctions against members of the Russian House of Representatives.

“In response to the British government’s decision on 11 March to add 386 MPs to the Russian State Duma (lower house) to the sanctions list, on a reciprocal basis, individual restrictions are being applies to 287 members of the British House of Commons,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

The list includes MPs who have “actively played a part” in fueling “baseless anti-Russian sentiment” in the UK and pushed for sanctions on Moscow. Among those banned by Russia are Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle, along with a number of cabinet members such as Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg and environment minister George Eustice. .

Also on April 27, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that customers in European Union (EU) countries could have their natural gas supplies cut off if they refused to pay in copper. Ruble.

“Russia has been and remains a reliable supplier of energy to consumers and remains committed to fulfilling its contractual obligations,” Peskov told reporters. “As the payment deadline approaches, if some consumers refuse to pay under the new system, then of course the decree of the Russian president will apply.”

When asked if Russia is ready for budget losses if European countries refuse to pay for gas in rubles, the Kremlin spokesman said: “Everything has been calculated, all risks are taken. risks were foreseen and addressed by the necessary measures”.

Earlier, Russian energy group Gazprom announced that it had cut off all gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria because these two countries did not pay the contract in rubles.

US, Russia exchange prisoners amid tensions in Ukraine

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova today (April 27) confirmed that the country and the United States had conducted a prisoner exchange after a lengthy negotiation process.

In this exchange, American citizen Trevor Reed was exchanged for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko. In 2010, pilot Yaroshenko was arrested in Liberia for allegedly smuggling cocaine, was later extradited to the US and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Meanwhile, Trevor Reed (over 30 years old) is a former US Marine who was arrested by Russian police in 2019, and sentenced to 9 years in prison for assaulting a police officer while visiting his girlfriend in Russia. .

US President Joe Biden also confirmed the release of Trevor Reed, and said negotiations to bring him back “required difficult decisions that I cannot take lightly”. In addition, Mr. Biden also called on Moscow to soon release US security director Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018.

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