WASHINGTON, January 8. /TASS/. US representatives will only discuss bilateral security issues during the US-Russia meeting in Geneva on January 10, a high-ranking Department of State representative told journalists Friday.
"On Monday, we will listen to Russia’s explanations of its proposals [on security guarantees] and the underlying concerns. We will respond, we will tell about our own concerns. I hope that this will reveal several bilateral issues that have enough points of contact for further discussions. […] I would like to underscore that the discussions within the dialogue on strategic stability will focus on bilateral issues," she said.
The US expect to be able to organize a new round of talks on security shortly after the meetings in Geneva, scheduled for next week, a high-ranking US Department of State representative told.
She mentioned that Russia and the US will hold talks on guarantees of security on January 10 in Geneva.
"We hope that we will be able to hold another [security] working group meeting and another plenary meeting relatively shortly after this meeting," the representative said.
The US considers Russia’s calls to withdraw US nuclear weapons from Europe problematic, a high-ranking Department of State representative told.
According to the representative, Russia’s call on the US to "remove its forward deployment nuclear weapons from the territory of the allied states" is not "something new" that Washington has "never heard before."
"We made it clear for Russia in the past that [these calls] are really problematic for the US, and we stated that, as long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO will remain a nuclear-armed alliance," she said.
Reports that the US is preparing to withdraw its forces from the Eastern Europe are false, a high ranking US Department of State representative told.
"I want to be perfectly clear that [these reports] are false," she said. "In fact, we made it clear for Russia, both publicly and privately, that, should Russia invade Ukraine in the future, we will reinforce our NATO allies, which we have a sacred commitment to.".
The US will not refuse to listen to Russia’s proposals beyond bilateral issues during the January 10 security talks in Geneva, a high-ranking Department of State representative told.
She underscored that Washington realizes that Ukraine will be among points of discussions in Geneva and Brussels.
"However, we would also like to hear what Russia will say. Therefore we will not necessarily say that we don’t want to listen to them or something else, because we want to engage in a dialogue. And part of this dialogue is to listen to what they have to say and to express our concerns," the representative said.