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Proposals for European security, which Russia sent to the West late last year, represent a path to a dangerous new world order, a US official said.
Michael Carpenter, the US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), said in an interview with Radio Free Europe that the West simply could not negotiate on key principles, such as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.
“If we start following the path of negotiations on the essential principles of the international order, then we will end up in a world where power makes the law and missiles, tanks and troops decide whether a country should choose its future,” Carpenter said.
In December, Russia urged NATO to halt eastward expansion and withdraw troops and weapons from Eastern and Central Europe.
Moscow made the request as it deployed more than 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine. The troop gathering, according to Western experts and officials, is an attempt by Russia to negotiate by “putting the revolver on the table.”
Russia is seeking to block Ukraine’s NATO membership, something the Kremlin has called a “red line.”
Three rounds of talks, held earlier this month between the West and Russia on security requirements, failed, as concerns grew that an invasion of Ukraine could be imminent.
Russia denies plans to invade Ukraine.
During these meetings, the US and European partners have warned Moscow that it will face “massive” economic sanctions if it invades Ukraine.
Carpenter, who represented Washington at the OSCE meeting with Russia on January 13, said the threat of strong Western sanctions was intended to make Russia choose between diplomacy and occupation.
“What we see as the most effective way to approach the situation is to widen the gap between these two elections, in order to make it very clear,” he said of Russia.
However, there are concerns that there may be disagreements in the West over the response to Russian aggression. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has deep trade ties with Russia and could lose more than other countries if sanctions are imposed on Russia.
Carpenter said not every state could be “100 percent in line” with the measures being discussed, but said he believed there was a strong unity to impose tough sanctions in the event of an invasion.
While describing the Russian military gathering as troubling, Carpenter said there was still hope for diplomacy, stressing that the West and Russia could make progress on some of Moscow’s demands, such as arms restrictions and transparency over military exercises.
He also said that the US supports the continuation of peace talks to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists.rel
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