If Russia wants to make a deal on security guarantees, it should halt military exercises near the Ukrainian border or provide clarification and be transparent about troop movements, the US State Department has insisted.
Spokesman Ned Price’s comments, made on Tuesday, came just hours after Russia announced new drills in the Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk, and Smolensk regions, all of which are located on Russia’s western border.
“De-escalation in this context would call for Russian troops to return to their barracks, for these exercises to either be explained or to come to a halt, for this heavy weaponry to return to its regular storage locations,” Price told reporters.