Washington’s claim: NATO is not a threat to Russia.
US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland warned Russia again about Ukraine, saying NATO was not a threat to Moscow.
A third US State Department official said that if Russia did not pose a threat to NATO, the Western military alliance would not pose a threat to Russia.
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland held a press conference to explain the recent meeting of senior representatives of Washington and Moscow in Geneva, Switzerland.
According to Sputnik, Nuland claimed at the meeting that NATO posed no threat to Russia, provided Russia did not pose a threat to the military alliance.
“NATO is not a threat to Russia if Russia chooses to be a threat to NATO,” said a third State Department official. “NATO is a defense coalition whose sole purpose is to protect its members.”
According to the senior Washington official, taking the diplomatic path and resorting to diplomacy is the best way to restore stability and security for Ukraine, Europe and Russia.
He reiterated the threat posed by US officials about possible sanctions and severe economic pressure on Russia in the event of an “invasion of Ukraine”.
Nuland warned that restrictions and sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies on Russia would have a painful effect on the country.
“We are very confident in the consultations we have had with our allies and partners,” the Washington official said. “We have been working on this for about two and a half months at every level, from the president to the lower levels.”
“As I have discussed in general and will only talk about in general, we have a common understanding of the kind of tight financial measures we need to take, and also now in the context of export restrictions that have an impact on Russia,” he added. “It will be painful.”
The remarks came as Moscow-Washington talks in Geneva, chaired by Russia’s deputy foreign minister and deputy secretary of state, took place on Monday.
