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US Department of State, EU Political and Security Committee discuss talks with Russia

The Deputy Secretary thanked the Committee for their work to ensure any further "Russian military invasion of Ukraine" would result in severe costs

WASHINGTON, January 12. / TASS /. US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and ambassadors from the EU’s Political and Security Committee have discussed the Russian-US talks on security guarantees held in Geneva, as well as the situation around Ukraine, Spokesperson of the US Department of State Ned Price said.

According to Price, the sides "discussed Russia’s unprovoked military build-up along Ukraine’s border and to provide a readout of the US-Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue, which was held [on January 10] in Geneva."

"The Deputy Secretary thanked the Committee for their work to ensure any further Russian military invasion of Ukraine would result in severe costs, including coordinated economic measures, for the Russian Federation," the spokesperson noted.

There has been a flurry of statements in the West and Kiev lately that Russia could invade Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they were unsubstantiated escalation and that Russia doesn’t threaten anyone. At the same time, he didn’t rule out provocations to corroborate these Western statements and warned that the use of force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine will have serious consequences. Peskov has also stated that Russia does its best to help Ukraine in settling the conflict, while holding on to the Normandy Format and the Minsk agreements.

The Russian-US consultations on security guarantees took place on January 9-10 in Geneva. The meeting of the NATO-Russia Council is scheduled for January 12 in Brussels, while the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) Permanent Council in Vienna will be held on January 13.

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