Facts

If Russia not to release detained Ukrainian sailors Washington to stop negotiations with Moscow – Volker

Special Representative of the U.S. State Department for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker has said that the United States if Russia releases the Ukrainian sailors detained in the area of the Kerch Strait, the United States is committed to doing everything that they can to facilitate that as well, in negotiations

"We do call on Russia immediately to release the sailors and to try to come back to a diplomatic track for resolving this crisis," the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States said on its Facebook page, citing a statement of Volker at the U.S. European Media Hub during a phone briefing in Brussels.

Volker said that Washington is aware of the situation in the area of the Kerch Strait.

"We know from imagery, we know from video on YouTube, we know from what the Ukrainians have reported what happened in terms of the blockage of the strait, the pursuit of the Ukrainian vessels in international waters, firing upon them, and those sailors still being held by Russia," he said.

"Both the United States and Europe are looking at what additional measures we should be taking if Russia fails to return the sailors and continues to make these assertions of control of the Kerch Strait as it is," he said.

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