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Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Sunday that despite evidence that Russia is preparing to strike Ukraine, the U.S. remains committed to pursuing a diplomatic solution, and Kirby illustrated what negotiations with the Kremlin could look like.
In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” Kirby said that the Biden administration has “made serious proposals about ways that we can change things we’re doing in Europe,” in order to address concerns of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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“We have made serious proposals about ways that we can change things we’re doing in Europe to try to address the situation,” Kirby said, adding that “some things are clearly off the table.”
When asked by host Bill Hemmer what is off the table, Kirby specifically mentioned the issue of Ukraine joining NATO.
“That’s an issue for Ukraine and for NATO,” Kirby said. “That’s not something that Mr. Putin can simply institute a veto over or decide for himself. That kind of thing is, again, between the alliance and Ukraine.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking to the media during a joint news conference with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban following their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. Putin says the U.S. and its allies have ignored Russia’s top security demands. In his first comments on the standoff with the West over Ukraine in more than a month, Putin said Tuesday that the Kremlin is still studying the U.S. and NATO’s response to the Russian security demands received last week. (Yuri Kochetkov/Pool Photo via AP)
(Yuri Kochetkov/Pool Photo via AP)
Kirby then detailed certain issues that are up for negotiation.
“We have made serious proposals about changing, for instance, the scope and scale of some of our exercises in Europe, being willing to talk about offensive missile capabilities in Europe,” Kirby said, adding that the U.S. has “put forward other proposals to try to convince Mr. Putin that we’re serious.”
Hemmer then asked if there are any lessons that administration has learned from the military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Kirby said the U.S. is “still trying to digest” everything that happened, but made clear that the Afghanistan situation should not be compared to what is going on with Russia and Ukraine.
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“They are two very different circumstances,” Kirby said. “This is actually trying to prevent a war from happening.”
