The U.S. unequivocally stated on Jan. 26, in a formal written response sought by Russia, that it will not bend to Russia’s demands that NATO provide guarantees that Ukraine will never become a member of the defense alliance.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted, in announcing the delivery of the written response, that the paper reiterated much of what Washington has already told the Kremlin, including that the U.S will continue to fully support long-established NATO policy:
“We will uphold the principle of NATO’s open door policy. That door is open and will remain open.“
Blinken emphasized that the U.S. and NATO are ready to continue talks with Russia to resolve the Ukraine crisis. He said that the paper lays out a “serious diplomatic path forward” that could serve as the basis for further negotiations on the placement of arms in Europe, arms reduction and risk reduction.
For weeks, Russia had called for a written U.S. response to its demands over NATO encroachment and that Ukraine should never achieve membership. The U.S. agreed to respond after talks in Geneva on Jan. 21 between the US Secretary of State Antony and Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov ended inconclusively.
While some experts had expressed doubt that the US would respond at all, U.S. Ambassador to Russia John J. Sullivan personally delivered the written response to Russia’s Foreign Ministry late on Wednesday, CNN reported.
Ukraine’s government, which at times has expressed concern that it was not part of the ongoing discussions over its future, stated that it had reviewed the written response and provided input. Russia received the U.S. written response the same day that Ukraine joined France and Germany in talks with Russia in Paris.
Russia has amassed 127,000 troops on Ukraine’s eastern border and is preparing joint military maneuvers with Belarus on Ukraine’s northern border in what many experts believe could well be a prelude to another big invasion of Ukrainian territory.
