NATO chief warns of ‘real risk of conflict’ after talks with Russia

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman says that during the talks in Brussels, the Kremlin was – just In Geneva early this week He stuck to his wish list for the United States and NATO to withdraw their forces from several former Soviet states. NATO must also pledge not to expand further. Sherman asserts that this cannot be the case.

“We basically said to the Russians, some of the things you put on the table are not an option for us,” Sherman said. We do not agree that NATO cannot expand further. We do not agree to go back to 1997 (When NATO’s Eastern Expansion Begins, ed.). Together, the United States and our NATO allies have made clear that we are committed to NATO’s open door policy, a policy that has always been central to NATO.”

‘Real risk of conflict’

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg described today’s meeting as a “decisive moment for European security”, but stressed that “significant differences” remain between Russia and NATO.

“We had a very serious and direct conversation about the situation in and around Ukraine and the implications for European security,” Stoltenberg said. “It will not be easy to overcome our differences, but it is a positive sign that all NATO allies and Russia have come together around the same table and tackled core issues.”

But Stoltenberg also acknowledges that there is a “real danger of a new armed conflict in Europe” and warns that Russia will have to suffer “serious consequences” if it invades Ukraine.

NATO membership

Western influence in Ukraine has been the main source of tension for years. For Russia, the United States and its European allies are going too far. Moscow calls on Ukraine not to join NATO. According to Western officials, a huge and dangerous Russian force has now amassed on the border with Ukraine.

Resentment stems from the impeachment of Ukraine’s elected pro-Russian president in 2014. The West sees this as the result of a popular uprising, and the Kremlin sees it as the result of a carefully orchestrated coup in Washington. Current President Joe Biden visited Ukraine six times during Barack Obama’s presidency (2009-2017) as Vice President. Shortly after a change of power in Kiev in early 2014, Russia angrily annexed Crimea. Since then, Moscow has supported pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. There has already been a civil war there since 2014.