Russia sees 'little ground for optimism' in US response on Ukraine crisis
The US rejection of Russia’s main demands to resolve the crisis over Ukraine left “little ground for optimism,” the Kremlin said on Thursday, but added that dialogue was still possible.
It came after the US and the Western alliance firmly rejected any concessions on Moscow's main demands on Wednesday, refusing to permanently ban Ukraine from joining NATO and saying allied deployments of troops and military equipment in Eastern Europe are nonnegotiable.
All eyes are now on President Vladimir Putin, who will decide how Russia will respond amid fears that Europe could again be plunged into war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the response from the US — and a similar one from NATO — left “little ground for optimism”.
But he added that “there always are prospects for continuing a dialogue, it’s in the interests of both us and the Americans”.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the US response contained some elements that could lead to “the start of a serious talk on secondary issues," but emphasized that “the document contains no positive response on the main issue.”
The key demands from Moscow are that NATO do not expand and that the alliance refrain from deploying weapons that might threaten Russia.
Lavrov said top officials will submit their proposals to Putin, and Peskov stated that the Russian reaction would come soon.
Peskov added that Putin and US President Joe Biden will decide whether they need to have another conversation following two calls last month.
The US Secretary of State said Washington had made no concessions to the main Russian demands over Ukraine and NATO in a written response delivered to Moscow on Wednesday.
Antony Blinken added that the US proposals offered Russia a "serious diplomatic path
Read more on euronews.com
