Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a meeting with community representatives and residents of Crimea and Sevastopol via a video link in Moscow, Russia March 18, 2021.
Alexei Druzhinin | Sputnik | via Reuters
WASHINGTON – On Wednesday members of the world’s most powerful military alliance will meet with top Russian officials in Belgium to discuss ways to prevent a fresh conflict over Ukraine.
The NATO-Russia Council meeting in Brussels follows a series of high-stakes talks between Washington and Moscow, triggered in part by an aggressive buildup of Russian troops on Ukraine’s borders.
“I don’t think we can expect that these meetings will solve all the issues,” explained NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during a press briefing this week.
“What we are hoping for is that we can agree on a way forward, that we can agree on a series of meetings, that we can agree on a process,” Stoltenberg added.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg holds a news conference during a NATO summit at the Alliance’s headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, June 14, 2021.
Olivier Hoslet | Pool | Reuters
For months, Kyiv has warned the U.S. and European allies that tens of thousands of Russian troops were massing along its eastern border. The buildup has evoked shades of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, a peninsula on the Black Sea, which sparked an international uproar and triggered a series of sanctions on Moscow.
The Kremlin has previously denied that it was preparing for an invasion.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman kicked off talks this week with her Russian counterpart on Monday in Geneva.
Sherman said that in her discussions with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, which lasted for nearly eight hours, she conveyed the severe economic consequences the Biden administration was prepared to take against Moscow.
“We are very ready and aligned with our partners and allies to impose those severe costs,” Sherman told reporters on a conference call following her meeting with Ryabkov.
“Those sanctions will include key financial institutions, export controls that target key industries, enhancements of NATO force posture on allied territory, and increased security assistance to Ukraine,” Sherman said, adding that the Biden administration was coordinating measures with NATO allies, the European Council and G7 members.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov attend security talks at the United States Mission in Geneva, Switzerland January 10, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
DENIS BALIBOUSE | REUTERS
Victoria Nuland, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, echoed similar sentiments on Tuesday during a press briefing.
“We are very confident in the consultations that we’ve been having with our allies and partners. We’ve been working at this for some two and a half months at every level from the president on down. We have, as I discussed in very broad strokes a…
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