WASHINGTON, January 29. /TASS/. The United States was willing to scale back the scope of some exercises in Europe, but it would require reciprocal steps from Russia, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in an interview with Greta Van Susteren, an American journalist, which will be aired in her program on Sunday.
The Hill published excerpts from the interview on Saturday.
Kirby commented on talks with Moscow on its security proposals.
"<…> When we started these negotiations with him (Russian President Vladimir Putin - TASS), we were willing to put something on the table if the Russians would reciprocate. For instance, scaling back, maybe the size and scope of some of our exercises on the continent, but it would require reciprocity from the Russians. They (Russians - TASS) weren't willing to go there," he said. "So again, we're not closing the door on talks. The State Department has been clear, there's still room for that, but we'll have to see where it goes."
The press secretary added that Washington was willing to work with Moscow on such proposals but was against a ban on Ukraine’s accession to NATO.
"It's not up to Vladimir Putin to put a veto on whether a nation joins NATO or who it associates with. It's not up to Vladimir Putin to decide that their sovereignty can be violated so easily. So there's certain things, obviously, principles we're not going to compromise on," Kirby said.
He claimed that Russia continues to add to its forces "on the ground, in and around the border with Ukraine as well as in Belarus."
On January 26, the US and NATO handed over written responses to Russia on Moscow’s security guarantees that it was demanding from Washington and Brussels. The American side requested that the documents not be made public, although US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg enumerated their basic provisions. According to these statements, the West did not make concessions to Russia considered to be critical, but did indicate directions for further negotiations.
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.