@DeputySecState: "today was a truly remarkable expression of the power of diplomacy. Thirty sovereign nations spoke separately as NATO allies, and also spoke as one."
@DeputySecState Sherman: "NATO allies spoke in complete unity in support of a set of critical international principles: that all countries must be able to choose their own foreign policy orientation and that soverignty and territorial integrity are sacrosanct."
@DeputySecState Sherman: "NATO has never expanded through force, coercion, or subversion. It is a country's sovereign choice to come to NATO and say it wants to join."
@DeputySecState Sherman: "We will not slam the door shut on the NATO open door policy."
Sherman: if Russia chooses to invade Ukraine, the West will impose "measures that would exact a severe and fateful impact on Russia's economy.... It is on Russia to deescalate tensions and allow the diplomacy to succeed."
Sherman: "we were basically saying to the Russians: 'some of the [proposals] are non-starters.' We aren't going to agree that NATO can't expand any further. We aren't going to agree to go back to 1997. We aren't going to agree that everything in Europe has to get out of Europe."
Sherman: Russia is "a powerful country. The fact that they feel threatened by Ukraine, a smaller and still developing democracy, is hard to understand quite frankly."
Sherman: "There was no commitment to de-escalate [from Russia]. Nor was there a statement that there would not be."
Sherman: "If Russia wants to reach success through diplomacy-- and the consequences will be quite severe for them if they don't-- then they should de-escalate."
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