The US has “publicly and privately” told Russia that, should it further invade Ukraine, NATO would reinforce its eastern flank, says US Ambassador to Lithuania Robert S. Gilchrist.
“We have a sacred obligation” to NATO's eastern allies, he reassured in a comment to LRT.lt.
US and Russian delegations met in Geneva on Monday for talks on the Kremlin's demands for NATO, which include guarantees on not expanding the alliance to Ukraine or Georgia and not deploying military force in Eastern Europe.
Read more: Bargain through warfare – US allies gear up for tough talks with Russia
Quoting its sources, Politico reported on Monday that some of Washington's allies in Europe felt excluded from the negotiations that concern them.
However, Gilchrist insists that there will be no agreements behind Europeans' backs.
“We are tightly lashed up with our NATO allies as we address this crisis together, on the principle of ‘nothing about you without you’,” the US ambassador said.
“We have been clear with Russia, publicly and privately, that should Russia further invade Ukraine we would reinforce our NATO allies on the eastern flank,” he continued.
The US deploys a battalion-sized contingent, about 500 troops, in Lithuania on a rotational basis. Ambassador Gilchrist said: “We continually engage with the Lithuanian government on US troop deployments in Lithuania.”
On January 12, the first meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in over two years is to be held in Brussels. This will be followed by a January 13 meeting in Vienna within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which includes the US, its European allies, Ukraine, and Russia.
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