US and allies ‘preparing for every eventuality’ if Russia abandons talks

The United States has urged Russia to continue security talks with the West and to stop moving troops and armour towards Ukraine, while warning that Washington and its allies were "preparing for every eventuality" if Moscow abandoned diplomacy.

The Nato-Russia council met on Wednesday for the first time since 2019, after Moscow massed an estimated 100,000 troops close to Ukraine and vowed to respond with “military-technical” means if the West failed to meet a lengthy list of Kremlin security demands.

Moscow's top priority is to obtain a guarantee that Ukraine and Georgia will never join Nato, but the military alliance and Washington rejected that demand in Brussels, just as the US did during bilateral talks with Russia in Geneva on Monday.

"The Nato allies spoke in complete unity – that all countries must be able to choose their own set of foreign-policy orientations; that sovereignty and territorial integrity are sacrosanct and must be respected; and that all nations are, and must be, free to choose their own alliances," said US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman.

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“Together, the United States and our allies made clear that we will not slam the door shut on Nato’s open-door policy,” she added, describing Wednesday’s talks as “very serious and direct” and urging Russia to continue diplomatic engagement beyond Thursday’s meeting in Vienna at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

"If Russia walks away . . . it will be quite apparent they were never serious about pursuing diplomacy and that is why collectively we are preparing for every eventuality," Ms Sherman said.

“The heavy pace of bilateral and multilateral engagements this week demonstrates that the United States and our allies and partners are not dragging our feet. It is Russia that has to make a stark choice: de-escalation and diplomacy or confrontation and consequences.”

No commitment

Ms Sherman confirmed that Russia made “no commitment to de-escalate” in Wednesday talks, and said she found it “hard to understand” why Russia – with its vast territory, immense resources, huge military and nuclear weapons – felt threatened by Ukraine.

“Why [do] they need 100,000 troops on the [Ukrainian] border . . . Is this about invasion, intimidation, is this about trying to be subversive? I don’t know, but it is not conducive for diplomatic solutions,” she said.

Russia says it will feel secure only if Nato gives legally binding guarantees not to admit new members in eastern Europe and withdraws troops and military hardware from much of the region.

"The situation has simply reached such a critical point in terms of pan-European security and the national interests of our country . . . that we cannot delay further and the concerns we have voiced need concrete answers," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said he hoped Moscow would agree to further talks on arms control and on possible "ways to increase the transparency of military exercises, to prevent incidents and reduce space and cyber threats".

“It is only Ukraine and 30 [Nato] allies that can decide when Ukraine can become a Nato member,” he added. “No one else can, and of course, Russia does not have a veto.”