Ukraine crisis: US asserts Russia must choose either diplomacy or confrontation with West

Following the talks between NATO and Russia, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has warned Moscow that it must choose either diplomacy or confrontation with the West. The deployment of over 100,000 troops at the Ukrainian border has become a major flashpoint in soaring relations between Moscow and the West. While Russia has listed its demands to defuse the ongoing tensions, the US, on the other hand, has made it clear that Washington will not bend what it sees as a key principle that countries like Ukraine can make their own decision about joining an alliance. 

On Wednesday, Sherman reiterated that the US and other NATO members would never agree to veto Ukrainian admission as the military alliance had an “open-door policy”. She said that the goal of joining NATO is part of Ukraine’s constitution. However, Sherman also added that there were areas where progress could be made and that Russia must decide what it wanted to happen next. 

"Russia, most of all, will have to decide whether they really are about security, in which case they should engage, or whether this was all a pretext. And they may not even know yet,” US top diplomat Wendy Sherman said as quoted by BBC. 

It is to mention that Russia has issued a series of demands which aim to prevent NATO from expanding any further east. Moscow has even demanded to reduce NATO’s presence near Russia’s border. However, in recent weeks, NATO has flatly rejected Moscow’s demands but said that it is willing to talk about other issues including arms control and limits to military exercises. 

‘Real risk for new armed conflict in Europe’

Meanwhile, following the talks in Brussels on Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko warned that a further deterioration in ties could lead to unpredictable consequences for European security. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also said that there was a "real risk for new armed conflict in Europe". Stoltenberg stressed that the dialogue focused on the situation in and around Ukraine, but it was a difficult and "direct" one, adding that the differences with the Kremlin “will not be easy to bridge.” 

Both NATO and Russia stressed that there was a need for further dialogues, particularly on arms control and missile deployment, and NATO’s military deployment in Eastern Europe. The two sides also discussed reestablishing offices in Brussels and Moscow, as both Russia and the alliance had shut offices and suspended missions during October 2021. The move was prompted after NATO expelled Russian diplomats over espionage allegations, which the Kremlin retaliated. About the draft proposal outlining Russia’s security guarantees that were published last month, NATO said: “We rejected those demands.” 

(Image: AP)