Dep SoS Sherman Speaks Of 'Frank And Forthright' Talks w/Russians

Following comments from Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman also makes a statement after nearly 8 hours of talks. Sais that she will brief NATO allies on the talks at the meeting in Brussels tomorrow.

• Mike Eckel at RFERL tweets some of Sherman's comments: "Sherman said that she and Rybakov had a “frank and forthright discussion”. Said that she had offered to meet again soon to discuss US missile placements in Europe. "
• Sherman: "We were firm in pushing back on security proposals that are simply non-starters for the United States. We will not allow anyone to slam shut NATO’s open door policy that has always been central to NATO."
• Sherman: "One country cannot change the borders of another country by force...We reiterated that we believe genuine progress can only take place in a climate of deescalation, not escalation. If Russia stays at the table and takes concrete steps to deescalate tensions, we believe we can achieve progress."
• Sherman: "If Russia walks away from the diplomatic path, it may well be apparent that they were never serious about pursuing diplomacy... And I said that plainly to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia has a stark choice to make."
• Sherman: "We did not have discussions about American troop levels in our discussion – I don’t think that is what is on the table, that is not anticipated, that is not a topic of conversation."