Washington may border on military exercises in Europe and temporarily stop the supply of weapons to Ukraine to reduce confrontation with Russia, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Earlier, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said that the White House intends to discuss joint steps to reduce “tensions on the border between Russia and Ukraine.” According to her, to achieve this goal, Washington “has a set of tools that include a wide range of opportunities.”
Sources for The Wall Street Journal in the American administration reported that the White House is considering the possibility of strengthening the defense sphere of Ukraine by increasing the supply of weapons. However, Washington is also ready to come up with a more insistent position on the need to implement the Minsk agreements to “reduce the risk of confrontation with Moscow.” According to the newspaper’s sources, the United States may restrict military exercises in Europe, as well as suspend the supply of military aid to Ukraine.
On Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the foreign ministers of the NATO countries at a meeting in Riga will discuss the “concentration of Russian forces” near the border with Ukraine. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov stressed that such statements are “empty and unfounded”, since Moscow poses no threat to anyone.