NEW YORK, January 16. /TASS/. The United States hopes that negotiations with Russia on security would continue, a US Department of State spokesperson was quoted as saying by Newsweek.
"We are hopeful these talks will continue, but if Russia steps away from the table, it will become clear that they were never willing to engage," the spokesperson added. "Throughout it all, we will closely coordinate with our Allies and partners, which will continue in the days and weeks ahead," he said.
"The coming days will provide a better indication of whether Russia is genuinely interested in diplomacy, if they are prepared to negotiate seriously in good faith, or whether they will use discussions as a pretext to claim that diplomacy couldn't address their interests," the official added.
In his words, US President Joe Biden "made clear that if Russia chooses to pursue confrontation, the United States and our NATO Allies will impose significant and severe economic harm on the Russian economy." Possible measures include imposing economic sanctions, providing additional military aid to Kiev and fortifying NATO's Eastern flank.
"We are preparing for all contingencies, as we have been doing for weeks now," the spokesperson added.
On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a draft agreement on security guarantees between Russia and the United States and a draft agreement on ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states. Consultations on the issue took place in Geneva on January 10, followed by a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels on January 12 and a session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council in Vienna on January 13.
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.