US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Monday after her talks in Geneva with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on security issues, that the United States is determined to reject security proposals that do not work and not to allow anyone to undo NATO's open-door policy.
We will not allow anyone to cancel the open-door policy in NATO, which has always been central to the alliance, Sherman said, as well as that the US does not intend to take any decisions on the situation in Ukraine without first consulting the country's leadership.
Sherman said the United States had frank and clear discussions with the Russian delegation during the nearly eight hours of talks and is open to meeting again soon to discuss bilateral issues in more detail.
Referring to the possibility of Russia invading Ukraine, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State said that proof that there are no such plans would be for Russian troops deployed on the border with Ukraine to return to their barracks.
The Russian Deputy Secretary of State described the talks as professional, but said that a significant breakthrough and compromises were needed. The discussion was difficult, long, very professional, in-depth, concrete. Without attempts to sugarcoat anything or avoid sharp corners, Sergei Ryabkov said, stressing that the United States took the proposals concerning security guarantees very seriously.
We got the impression that the American side approached the Russian proposals very seriously, studied them in depth, Ryabkov said.
The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister also said that Russia will decide whether to continue talks with the United States after this week's scheduled meetings with NATO and under the auspices of the OSCE. Speaking during a news conference after the Geneva talks, Ryabkov said there is a basis for an agreement between Russia and the United States, but that Washington should not underestimate the risks of confrontation. At the same time, he said that a balance of interests can be found with NATO without Russia backing down from its demands on security guarantees.
At the same time, Ryabkov made it clear that Russia will continue to conduct military exercises on its territory despite NATO's objections, saying that just as NATO takes care of its own security, we take care of our own security and do what we consider necessary.
Ryabkov said there has been no progress on the issue of NATO's non-expansion. As far as the non-enlargement of NATO is concerned, I would say that there has been categorically no progress on this issue, Ryabkov said, adding that this is one of the main problems and I would say that to a large extent everything else will depend on how the situation on this issue develops.
Source: APE-MPA
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