WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States does not want to see escalation in relations with Russia and looks for a dialogue and cooperation, a senior White House official said in a briefing on Wednesday.
"We don’t want escalation. Secretary [of State Rex] Tillerson is in Moscow today, and obviously we understand that we need dialogue with Russia," the official told reporters. "We need to explore with them what areas we could…cooperate on. It is important for Russia to show its seriousness about cooperating with us."
US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will discuss the alliance’s approach to Russia in a Wednesday meeting in Washington.
"We expect the president and the secretary general to talk about NATO’s approach to Russia and to emphasize that Russia must uphold all of its commitments under the Minsk agreement to peacefully resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine," the official said.
In February 2015, Kiev forces and Donbass independence supporters signed a peace agreement in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in Donbass, as well as constitutional reforms that would give a special status to the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Despite the agreement brokered by the Normandy Four states (Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine), the ceasefire regime is regularly violated, with both sides accusing each other of multiple breaches, undermining the terms of the accord.
