US State Secretary Antory Blinken agrees with the view that Russian President Vladimir Putin wishes to restore the Soviet Union. 

“ I think that’s one of President Putin’s objectives, and it is to re-exert a sphere of influence over countries that previously were part of the Soviet Union.  And as we’ve said, that’s unacceptable.  We can’t go back to a world of spheres of influence.  That was a recipe for instability, a recipe for conflict, a recipe that led to world wars.  We’re not going back to that,” Blinken has told CNN. 

On the question whether the US’ pulling out some troops out of Eastern Europe or ruling out NATO enlargement is on the agenda of discussions, Blinken said that none of the topics will be placed on the negotiation table with Russia. “Neither of those is on the table, Jake, but here’s where we are.  There are two paths before us.  There’s a path of dialogue and diplomacy to try to resolve some of these differences and avoid a confrontation.  The other path is confrontation and massive consequences for Russia if it renews its aggression on Ukraine.  We’re about to test the proposition about which path President Putin’s prepared to take,” Blinken said. 

He stated that ‘I don’t think we’re going to see any breakthroughs in the coming week.  We’re going to be able to put things on the table.  The Russians will do the same – both directly with us at NATO, at the OSCE – and we’ll see if there are grounds for moving forward.’