Meeting Moscow's demands for the withdrawal of US nuclear forces from Europe is "problematic"
Washington. January 8th. INTERFAX - The United States hopes that the upcoming meetings next week with Russian representatives on security guarantees, within the framework of the Russia-NATO Council, as well as with the OSCE will be productive, a representative of the US State Department told reporters.
"We hope and are determined that this week will be constructive," the official said during a special telephone briefing.
She noted that at the talks on security in Geneva on Monday, the United States expects to "hear what the Russians will say" and also "state their own concerns."
"I hope this will lead to the identification of several bilateral issues on which there are enough points of contact to continue discussions and, ultimately, a joint solution through a dialogue on strategic stability," the State Department spokeswoman said.
According to the diplomat, Washington hopes that following the results of consultations on bilateral issues, a meeting of the working group and another plenary meeting can be held quickly on Monday.
At the same time, she recommended to be skeptical about the comments of Russian officials about the results of the meeting, since some of them "will not reflect the true nature of the discussions."
The diplomat said that the United States considers the fulfillment of Russia's demands for the withdrawal of American nuclear forces from Europe "problematic."
"Russia has repeatedly publicly called on the United States to remove its nuclear weapons from the territory of allies (...), but in the past we have made it clear to Russia that this is really problematic for the United States, and we have confirmed that as long as nuclear weapons exist, NATO will remain a nuclear alliance," the official said.
She called "inaccurate" media reports that the United States is ready to discuss the possibility of reducing the number of American troops in Eastern Europe.
"It is inaccurate to say that the US administration is developing options for the withdrawal of American troops from Eastern Europe," the official said during a conference call on Friday.
She once again confirmed the readiness of the United States and its allies to impose sanctions against Russia in the event of an escalation of the situation around Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that during a telephone conversation, Russian Presidents Vladimir Putin and the United States Joe Biden agreed to hold talks on security guarantees on three tracks: bilateral Russia and the United States - in Geneva, Russia and NATO - in Brussels and in Vienna - through the OSCE.
