The Biden administration said it had no further meetings planned with the Kremlin after talks over Russia’s troop buildup on Ukraine’s border ended this week with no clear path forward.
“There are no dates set for any more talks,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Thursday.
The United States met with Russia, NATO, and European allies this week in an attempt to de-escalate tensions over concerns Russian troops could launch a new invasion against the former Soviet republic. Some 100,000 Russian soldiers are stationed on Ukraine’s eastern flank.
RUSSIA, AMID LIVE-FIRE WAR GAMES, MAKES ‘NO COMMITMENT TO DE-ESCALATE’ IN NATO TALKS
Sullivan warned that U.S. intelligence officials believe Moscow is preparing a “pretext” for a possible attack.
“Our intelligence community has developed information … that Russia is laying the groundwork to have the option of fabricating a pretext for an invasion,” he said.
Calling the meetings “useful,” Sullivan said the U.S. intelligence community has not “definitively decided” whether Russia plans to invade Ukraine but noted the U.S. was “prepared” for whichever path Russia takes.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“All we can do is get ready, and we are ready,” he added.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the talks with the U.S. in Geneva on Monday and with NATO in Brussels on Wednesday had hit a “dead end” as Moscow seeks to pressure Washington into halting military activity in Eastern Europe.
