Washington State Department said on January 7 ANI Sputnik US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will meet with European allies in Switzerland and Belgium to prepare for a series of security meetings with Russia next week.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman will be in Switzerland and Belgium from January 8 to January 13, the State Department said in a press release on Thursday. She will meet with representatives from the EU institutions and prepare for the NATO-Russia Council meeting on January 11. Sherman will lead the US delegation during the United States-Russia bilateral strategic stability dialogue and will be joined by Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of European and Eurasian AffairsEurasian Affairs Chris Robinson, according to the release.
The release said that the US Defense Department will be represented by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Laura Cooper and Lt. Gen. James Mingus during the bilateral meeting with Russia on January 10.
Deputy Secretary Sherman will lead the US delegation to the NATO-Russia Council meeting in Brussels, the release said.
The release said that Ambassador Michael Carpenter will head the US delegation during the OSCE meeting in Vienna.
The US-Russian negotiations on January 10 will be followed by a Russia-NATO Council meeting on January 12 and a summit of Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation OSCE in Europe on January 13.
The talks on January 10 as well as subsequent meetings with NATO and the OSCE will focus on a narrow set of bilateral issues, including confidence-building measures, said a US State Department spokeswoman Den Price earlier this week.