by Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – All options are on the table to respond to the “significant and unusual” reinforcement of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine and NATO will decide on the way forward following consultations that will take place. will be held next week, Karen Donfried, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, said on Friday.
“As you can understand, all the options are on the table and there is a toolkit that includes a whole host of options,” Karen Donfried said during a telephone press briefing.
US President Joe Biden expressed concern about the situation in Ukraine, reiterated Washington’s support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and added that he would “in all probability” meet with his Ukrainian counterparts and Russian Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Latvia and Sweden next week to attend NATO and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meetings.
Karen Donfried said the “significant and unusual” reinforcement of Russian troops would be on the agenda of the NATO summit.
“It is now up to the alliance to decide what are the next steps NATO wants to take,” said Karen Donfried.
“Next week we will talk about our assessment of what is happening on the border between Russia and Ukraine and we will start conversations about the options that are on the table and what NATO as a alliance, would like to do, “she added.
US, NATO and Ukrainian officials have sounded the alarm bells in recent weeks over what they see as unusual Russian troop movements close to Ukraine, suggesting Moscow may be on the verge of launching an attack on its neighbor, accusations that Russia has described as “alarmist”.
Asked if Antony Blinken would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during her stay in Stockholm, Karen Donfried replied that she had no announcement to make on such a bilateral meeting, but added : “Stay tuned.”
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Ukraine Presidential Administration Chief Andriy Yermak on Friday raised concerns about Russian military activities near the Ukrainian border on an appeal.
The two discussed Russia’s “harsh rhetoric” towards Ukraine and agreed that all sides must continue diplomatic efforts to ease tensions, said Emily Horne, spokesperson for the National Council. security, in a press release.
(Report Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis, French version Matthieu Protard)
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