Kerry Postpones Moscow Trip, Wants ‘Concrete Evidence’ Russia Is Serious
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State Dept photo(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State John Kerry postponed a trip to Moscow that was intended to serve as an opportunity for him to consult on the tension in the Crimea region of Ukraine.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the American proposal on resolving the situation in Ukraine is “not suitable to Russia.” Lavrov said that one of the issues Russia takes with the proposal is the wording of a document he was given by Kerry which “suggests there’s a conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”
In a U.S. State Department response, spokesperson Jen Psaki said that Kerry had made clear the American desire to see a “cessation of Russian military advances in Ukraine,” and that the State Department had not yet received a formal response to Kerry’s questions.
Kerry will still welcome future discussions on how best to de-escalate the tension, Psaki said, despite the fact that Kerry postponed his trip initially planned for this week. However, the State Department has “clear steps” that they believe the Russians must show before discussions will resume. Psaki said that these unspecified steps would serve as “concrete evidence that Russia is prepared to engage on these proposals and discussions in a serious way.”
Kerry added that any Russian attempt to spread out or control a larger area of Ukraine “would close any available space for diplomacy.”
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