Defense Secretary Ash Carter assured the Ukrainians on Thursday that just because the U.S. is talking with Russia about cooperating in Syria does not take away from U.S. condemnation of the Russian invasion of Crimea.
The White House confirmed that President Obama will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week, breaking months of silence between the two world leaders. Carter, meanwhile, spoke with his Russian counterpart in the first phone call between the two men since Carter took office in February.
But cooperation in one area does not signal cooperation in every area. Carter said those conversations on Syria do nothing to change America’s stance that Russia should end its occupation of Crimea and respect the Minsk II ceasefire.
“These ongoing discussions on Syria will not in any way take away from our strong condemnation of Russian actions in Ukraine or change our sanctions and security support,” Carter said during a joint press briefing at the Pentagon with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Colonel-General Stepan Poltorak.
Poltorak said he believed the Russian military buildup in Syria is partly designed to draw the world’s attention away from the continued occupation of Crimea by Russian-backed separatists.
“What’s happening in Syria we currently estimate is one of the factors to divert attention of the international community,” Poltorak said through a translator.
The U.S. is supporting Ukrainians in the fight for their sovereignty through training and equipment. The U.S. will have trained 900 Ukrainian National Guard personnel by the end of November and has provided more than $244 million in equipment, including night-vision goggles, body armor and medical supplies.
Both leaders, however, said the U.S. providing lethal aid to the Ukrainians was “not on the table” in their meeting Thursday at the Pentagon.
