Russian spokesperson says United States response to demands offered ‘little ground for optimism’

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that there was “little ground for optimism” in resolving the crisis over Ukraine after the U.S. rejected Russia’s main demands, but that dialogue was still possible.

Tensions have increased recently, as the United States and its NATO allies expressed concern about a buildup of nearly 100,000 Russian troops near the Ukraine border.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did say that “there always are prospects for continuing a dialogue, it’s in the interests of both us and the Americans,” according to The Associated Press.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed with Peskov’s dissatisfaction regarding the U.S. response. “The document contains no positive response on the main issue” of Russia’s demands, he said, adding, however, that the letter contained elements that could lead to “the start of a serious talk on secondary issues.”

Lavrov also indicated that Russia has limited patience when it comes to talks. “We won’t allow our proposals to be drowned in endless discussions,” he said.

On Wednesday the U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, delivered a written response to Russia’s demands. While the contents of the response have not been disclosed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that it “reiterates what we said publicly for many weeks and in a sense for many, many years.”

According to Blinken, President Biden personally edited the U.S. response and was heavily involved in its drafting.

Among Russia’s demands are guarantees that NATO will not expand further eastward and that Ukraine will never be permitted as a member of the military alliance. The U.S. has said that it cannot agree to these terms.