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Derek Chollet, Counselor with the US Department of State, said on Wednesday night in Bucharest that he had meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the Presidency and the Ministry of Energy.
The discussions were very good. We talked about the current crises, but also about the partnership we have and the ambitions for the future, not only just to get through the next weeks and months, but also for the next 25 years, he said.
At the same time, Chollet reiterated that the United States and its allies are working to strengthen Ukraine's resistance so that it can become stronger and more effective militarily.
He assured that the United States is willing to discuss issues of mutual interest with Russia, so as to reduce tensions concerning Ukraine, but warned that "some issues are not being discussed."
NATO's open door policy will not be reconsidered. We will not allow any country, and especially Russia, to determine Ukraine's fate. The United States is proud of the relationship it has built with its NATO partners on the eastern flank over the last 25 years, and we are not going to be moving back, Chollet said.
The State Department spokesman also reiterated that the United States is working closely with its partners in Europe and other parts of the world to ensure that Russia suffers severe and rapid consequences if it does not choose diplomacy and continues to escalate tensions and invade Ukraine.
I can't speculate on how this [preparing sanctions] will affect Putin's calculations (...) and how it will influence his behavior. But I have made it clear that these consequences will be coming quickly and will be felt by Russia and the Russian people. That's the best we can do, the US official underlined.
He said the Russian president's intentions are difficult to second-guess due to the current pressure on Ukraine and the West, but assured that "NATO's door will remain open".
No country should be able to control another country's choices about who they choose to ally with. These are fundamental principles. It is not just about Ukraine and Europe, it is about international law and order. It is more than just a territorial dispute in one part of the world, Chollet said.
He assured that the United States is not interested in reorganizing the security architecture in Europe.
That is very clear in the response that we, the United States collectively gave to Moscow ('s request) a few weeks ago as well as NATO's response. We have not yet received the full answer from Moscow. We are waiting to see it before deciding on the next steps from a diplomatic point of view, he explained.
Chollet declined to say whether the United States still considers a Russian invasion of Ukraine imminent.
We don't know when they will act. Our assessment is that Putin has not decided whether to act or not. But Russia has enough capabilities deployed [on the border with Ukraine - ed.n.] for a military action (...), if it chooses to do so, added the representative of the US diplomacy.
