U.S. in Russia talks reaffirms "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine" principle

This was stated by the head of the American delegation, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who spoke at a telephone briefing following the meeting, Ukrinform's own correspondent reported.

"We will not forego bilateral cooperation with sovereign states that wish to work with the United States.  And we will not make decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine, about Europe without Europe, or about NATO without NATO," said the deputy secretary of state.

Sherman also called on Russia to abide by its obligations under international norms and agreements, which it has repeatedly reaffirmed over the years.

"One country cannot change the borders of another by force, or dictate the terms of another country’s foreign policy, or forbid another country from choosing its own alliances," Sherman said.

She also noted that during the Geneva talks, the United States offered a number of ideas for cooperation with Russia on security issues that could be of common interest and improve strategic stability. In particular, according to Sherman, the American side offered to continue more detailed talks on the deployment of missiles and large-scale military exercises in areas close to international borders.

In addition, Sherman called on Russia to take "concrete steps to de-escalate tensions" in order to achieve progress in diplomatic negotiations.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the main meeting of the U.S. and Russian delegations within the framework of the Strategic Stability Dialogue took place in Geneva on January 10. One of the major goals of the talks was to find ways to de-escalate the situation in Europe against the background of the amassing of more than 100,000 Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.

Photo: State Department

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