The United States on Wednesday called on Russia to remain at the negotiating table after the first round of discussions on Ukraine this week, including on issues such as arms control, Reuters reported.
"If Russia withdraws ... it will be very obvious that they have never been serious about diplomacy, so we are collectively preparing for any eventual situation," US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told reporters in Brussels after the meeting. Russia-NATO Council.
"The high pace of bilateral and multilateral engagement this week shows that the United States and our allies and partners are not procrastinating. "Russia is the one who has to make a definite choice: de-escalation and diplomacy or confrontation and consequences," Sherman said.
"As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier, this was a very serious and direct conversation. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister [Alexander] Grushko and [Russian] Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin spoke extensively and shared the Russian Federation's proposals and views on European security and the future of NATO. "NATO allies have been united in our responses ..., including when it comes to some key Russian proposals that are simply not acceptable," she said.
"NATO Allies have come out in full unity in support of a number of basic international principles, according to which all countries must be able to choose their foreign policy orientation, that sovereignty and territorial integrity are sacred and must be respected, and that all countries can and must be free to choose their own unions, "she said, adding that the meeting lasted almost four hours.
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