U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says NATO will refrain from a business as usual with Russia until the Minsk agreement on a peaceful resolution of the Donbas conflict in eastern Ukraine has fully been implemented, according to an UNIAN correspondent from Brussels.
”NATO has been and has to be ready to and engaged in a willingness to be open to a political dialogue with Russia, but we refrain from a business as usual until Minsk commitments are fully implemented. That is critical.” Kerry said at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday on the occasion of the first-day meeting of foreign ministers of NATO member countries.
“And make no mistake, we will not recognize the annexation and the occupation of Crimea,” added Kerry but didn’t mention any consequences for Russia-NATO relations because of Crimea annexation.
”Tonight we will review our ongoing work to strengthen NATO`s eastern flank and to deter aggression. And a key aspect of our response to the actions – Russia`s actions in Ukraine is to meet the Wales commitments on defense investments and to continue to strengthen our deterrence capabilities through a more robust forward presence and with associated steps that I think have been described to you. That is why we are contributing $3.4 billion to the European Reassurance Initiative,” he said.
