WASHINGTON, January 11. /TASS/. During Monday’s consultations with Russia in Geneva, the United States unveiled its own ideas related to strategic stability, US Department of State Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
"Today in Geneva, the U.S. delegation listened to Russia’s security concerns, and presented its own strategic stability concerns and ideas for reciprocal action to improve strategic stability," he said.
"[The head of the US delegations] Deputy Secretary Sherman made clear that the diplomatic path provides the only durable solution to the security concerns of Russia and the United States. The Deputy Secretary stressed that while the United States is committed to diplomacy, it stands ready to impose significant economic and political costs, in close coordination with its allies and partners should Russia escalate its aggressive actions against Ukraine," Price said.
The statement also reiterates that Washington "would not discuss European security without the participation of our allies and partners,"
The Russian-US consultations on security guarantees were held in Geneva on Monday. On January 12, a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council will be held in Brussels and the OSCE Permanent Council will gather for a meeting in Vienna on the following day. The central topic of these meetings will be Russia’s initiatives on security in the Euro-Atlantic region.
The West and Kiev have recently been spreading allegations about Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded", serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such allegations and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences. According to him, Moscow is making every possible effort to help Kiev resolve the conflict in Donbass, remaining committed to the Normandy Four format and the Minsk Agreements.