"NATO has been and has to be ready to and engaged in a willingness to be open to a political dialogue with Russia, but we refrain from a business as usual until Minsk commitments are fully implemented. That is critical. And make no mistake, we will not recognize the annexation and the occupation of Crimea," Kerry said at a press conference in Brussels on Thursday on the occasion of the first-day meeting of foreign ministers of NATO member countries.
Read alsoNuland: U.S. won't recognize Donbas elections outside Minsk framework"Tonight we will review our ongoing work to strengthen NATO's eastern flank and to deter aggression. And a key aspect of our response to the actions – Russia's actions in Ukraine is to meet the Wales commitments on defense investments and to continue to strengthen our deterrence capabilities through a more robust forward presence and with associated steps that I think have been described to you. That is why we are contributing $3.4 billion to the European Reassurance Initiative," he said.
