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The situation on the border between Russia and Ukraine creates a sense of “emergency” in Washington, said “Dozhu” US Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan.
In recent months, experts, journalists and the military they say on the concentration of significant forces of the Russian army at the border with Ukraine. According to Ambassador Sullivan, the United States considers the threat to Ukraine and its sovereignty to be “the most acute problem.” “One of the ways to look at the current state of affairs is to say that we have an acute problem in Ukraine, that everything is exacerbated by the massive pulling of Russian military forces to the border with Ukraine. This creates a sense of emergency for the United States, ”he said.
Sullivan stressed that “there is no de-escalation.”
The American diplomat added that the American side cannot and will not make decisions about security in Europe without European partners and allies, including Ukraine. According to the ambassador, now there are “many discussions” at the level of the presidents and foreign ministers of the United States and Ukraine.
“These discussions are going on almost every day at a very, very high level. And they will continue today, ”Sullivan said.
Since the end of last year, experts have expressed concern that the concentration of Russian troops could mean preparations for invasion to Ukraine. On December 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden held a telephone conversation. Biden threatened with harsh sanctions in case of such aggression, and Putin stated about the readiness to sever all ties with the West with the introduction of unprecedented restrictions.
On January 10, the first Russian-American talks on security guarantees, the draft of which Russia presented at the end of last year, took place in Geneva. One of the key demands of Russia was the renunciation of Ukraine’s NATO membership and the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance to the east.
Following the talks, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that progress had not been made on these issues. First Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who heads the US delegation in Geneva, stressed that NATO will not abandon its “open door policy”.
Already on January 11, the Russian authorities announced the start of military exercises near the Ukrainian borders. The maneuvers will take place in the Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk and Smolensk regions, about 3,000 servicemen will take part in them, transfers Interfax with reference to the press service of the Western Military District.
The maneuvers also involved about 300 units of military equipment, including T-72B3 tanks, BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles.
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