The State Department called an alternative to "unprecedented" sanctions against Russia The United States hopes that sanctions will remain hypothetical and Russia

Washington hopes that Moscow will choose a diplomatic path to resolve the situation with Ukraine, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a briefing on Wednesday. The broadcast was conducted on the department's YouTube channel.

“We have made it clear what the alternative will be. The alternative that we and our NATO partners have been talking about is a tough response with unprecedented consequences for the Russian economy. <...> We hope that this [alternative] will remain hypothetical,” Price said.

He noted that the American side has not yet seen signs of de-escalation on the Russian-Ukrainian border, which, as the United States has repeatedly stressed, is a key condition for progress in negotiations with Russia.

“De-escalation can happen tomorrow, maybe on Friday. We would like that. But this has not yet happened - on the contrary, we have seen signs of movement in the opposite direction, ”Price said. According to him, the de-escalation process should not take "several weeks or even more."

In response to a reporter's question about what Washington would do if there was no de-escalation, but no escalation, i.e. the alleged Russian invasion of Ukraine, Price said: "If the status quo continues, we will continue to use diplomacy and dialogue . But we have clearly said that diplomacy and dialogue can only have results in the context of de-escalation.”