WASHINGTON, January 11. /TASS/. During the talks with Russia on security guarantees, the United States said that in order for these talks to succeed, the situation around Ukraine should be de-escalated, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has told reporters.
"We have been clear, and we were clear today, that the United States would welcome genuine progress through diplomacy. We also reiterated that we believe genuine progress can only take place in a climate of de-escalation, not escalation," said Sherman, who led the US delegation to the talks in Geneva.
"I fully expect that the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE this week, Russia will hear a consistent message from the United States and from our allies and partners - namely, that it is on Russia to de-escalate tensions so that we have a real chance at finding diplomatic solutions," the US diplomat added.
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.