“We should continue to engage, we should continue to have off-ramps, we should continue to work toward that goal, but it’s disappointing where things stand,” Jones said of the future US strategy toward Russia.
Jones explained that the outlook of the United States and its allies “is not just about getting ready for a war, it’s really about preventing war.”
Jones, who also served as National Security Advisor during US President Obama’s first two years in office, acknowledged the period of improved relations during the US-Russian “reset” in 2009, which he characterized as “very satisfying.”
Tensions between the United States and Russia have been heightened in the past year over issues relating to the conflict in Ukraine, and a number of diplomatic and military channels of communication between the countries have also been shut down. The United States and its allies have implemented a series of economic sanctions against Russia alleging its involvement in the Ukrainian conflict, charges that Russia has repeatedly denied.
