Secretary of State Antony Blink I declare that U.S did not yield to Russian demands on Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in a written response delivered Wednesday to the Russian government.
Russia has demanded that NATO promise not to include Ukraine or other former Soviet republics as members and also commit to withdrawing troops from the area. The Western alliance flatly rejects these demands.
The response delivered to Russia on Wednesday makes it clear that the United States stands by its principles, Blinken said. “There is no change and there will be no change,” said the diplomat.
Hours earlier in Moscow, it was reported that the United States delivered a written response to the Kremlin’s claims on Ukraine and NATO on Wednesday, amid heightened tensions and fears that Russia plans to invade its neighbor.
US Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan delivered the response to Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Russia warned on Wednesday that it would take swift “retaliatory measures” if the United States and its allies reject its security demands and continue their “aggressive” policies. The remarks ratcheted up pressure on the West amid concerns that Moscow is planning to invade Ukraine.
Russia has repeatedly denied plans to attack Ukraine, but the United States and its NATO allies are concerned about the estimated 100,000 troops displaced along the Ukrainian border and military exercises in the region.
As part of the exercises, motorized infantry and artillery units practiced shooting with ammunition, planes in Kaliningrad over the Baltic Sea carried out bombing flights, dozens of warships carried out exercises in the Black Sea and the Arctic, and fighter-bombers and paratroopers arrived at Belarus to conduct joint exercises.
Speaking to parliament, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he and other top officials will advise President Vladimir Putin on the next steps.
“If the West continues on its aggressive course, Moscow will have to take the necessary retaliatory measures,” he warned.
Although Russia is waiting for the US response, Lavrov said he will not wait forever. “We will not allow our proposals to be drowned in endless talks,” he said.
Asked by parliamentarians whether Russia could expand cooperation with Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, Lavrov replied that Moscow has close ties with those countries. Lavrov’s number two refused this month to rule out the deployment of Russian military assets in Cuba and Venezuela — much closer to the United States than Ukraine — if Moscow’s security demands are not met.
He said that Putin spoke by phone last week with the presidents of the three countries, who agreed to “study ways to further deepen our strategic cooperation.”
Weeks ago, Lavrov’s deputy refused to rule out sending Russian troops to Cuba and Venezuela if Moscow’s security demands are not met.
The defense ministries of the countries were planning new contacts to increase military cooperation, the Russian ambassador to Cuba, Andrei Guskov, announced to the Interfax news agency.
NATO said this month it would strengthen its deterrent measures in the Baltic Sea and the United States put 8,500 troops on alert for possible deployment to Europe. Western countries have also sent arms shipments to help Ukraine bolster its defenses.
Amid rising tensions, the Ukrainian authorities have tried to call for calm.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Wednesday that while the concentration of Russian troops near Ukraine poses a threat, “their number is now insufficient for a large-scale offensive.”
“Some key military systems and elements are still missing for a full-scale major offensive,” Kuleba said.
As others have done, he noted that raising alarm could be an end in itself. Russia, he noted, aims to destabilize Ukraine “by sowing panic, increasing pressure on the Ukrainian financial system and launching cyberattacks.”
“President Putin would be happy to see that plan succeed so that he doesn’t even have to resort to military force to put Ukraine in a vulnerable position,” he said.
His comments were added to other statements by Ukrainian authorities to reassure their citizens. In a televised address Tuesday night, the second in as many days, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is “strong enough to keep everything under control and thwart any attempt at destabilization.”
Several rounds of high-level diplomacy have failed to produce progress in the conflict, although another attempt was launched on Wednesday.
Presidential advisers from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany were scheduled to meet in Paris to discuss ways to revive the stalled peace process in eastern Ukraine.
In 2014, following the ouster of a pro-Kremlin president in Kiev, Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and supported a separatist insurgency in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland. More than 14,000 people have been killed in fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels, and efforts to seek a deal have stalled.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow expected a “good, frank” conversation at the Paris meeting.
In addition to military moves, the United States and its allies have threatened unprecedented sanctions if Moscow sends its troops to Ukraine, but have provided few details, saying Putin is better off not knowing about them in advance.
US President Joe Biden told reporters Tuesday that Putin “continues to build up forces along the Ukraine border” and an attack “would be the largest invasion since World War II. It would change the world.” He warned that there would be severe economic consequences for Putin, including personal sanctions, should an invasion occur.
Asked for comment on Biden’s remarks, Peskov noted that Russia’s president and other dignitaries have no assets in the West, but reiterated that such sanctions would be “politically destructive” to bilateral ties.
Britain has also pledged sanctions, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has urged European nations to do more to support Ukraine.
Britain has sent anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, although it has ruled out sending combat troops.
“We will legislate to tighten our sanctions regime and make sure we can fully reach individuals as well as businesses and banks in Russia in the event of a raid,” he told the BBC. “What’s important is that all of our allies do the same.”
Amid the tensions, the United States, Britain, Australia, Germany and Canada have taken steps to withdraw some of their diplomatic and associated staff in Kiev.
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