At a Joint Press Availability with the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Secretary Blinken listed the United States’ concerns with Russia’s demands for NATO to stop its expansion and disavow the decisions made at the 2008 Bucharest Summit.
“Let’s be very, very clear about this: NATO did not invade Ukraine; NATO did not invade Georgia; NATO did not position forces in Moldova against the will of its people. Those are all things, among many others, that Russia has done in recent years.
Over the past two decades, it is Russia that has invaded neighboring countries; interfered in other countries’ elections; used chemical weapons to attempt to assassinate opponents of the government and done so on foreign soil; violated international arms control agreements; pulled back from confidence-building and transparency measures long agreed. And so, we and our allies will absolutely be raising these and other issues with Russia in the days and weeks ahead.”
Secretary Blinken underscored the importance of discussions with European allies to make progress and deal with the ongoing military occupation in Ukraine. Secretary Blinken’s statement comes ahead of bilateral U.S.-Russia dialogue and meetings within the NATO-Russia Council and the OSCE.