U.S. Department of State
March 30, 2022

U.S.-EU Joint Press Release by the EEAS and Department of State on the First U.S.-EU High-Level Dialogue on Russia

The following is the text of a joint press release by the U.S. Department of State and the European External Action Service.

The European Union and the United States held today in Washington, D.C., the first U.S.-EU High-Level Dialogue on Russia. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland represented the United States and European External Action Service Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs Enrique Mora represented the European Union. This high-level meeting follows the commitments taken at the June 2021 U.S.-EU Summit, where both sides resolved to coordinate U.S. and EU policies and actions related to Russia. This inaugural session focused on U.S. and EU strategic objectives and policy coordination aimed at ending Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

Under Secretary Nuland and Deputy Secretary General Mora welcomed the exceptional unity shown at the recent European Council, extraordinary NATO Leaders’ Meeting, and G7 Leaders’ Meeting. They condemned the Kremlin’s…war against Ukraine, also enabled by the Belarusian government….They noted that the United States and the European Union will work to track reports of war crimes and will share information gathered with allies, partners, international institutions and organizations, as appropriate, and use every tool available to hold the perpetrators to account.

…They also discussed additional steps to isolate Russia further from the U.S. and EU economies and the international financial system to impose severe costs on Russia for its actions.

…They underlined the importance of insisting that China supports an immediate end to hostilities….They also underscored that they will continue to urge China not to circumvent nor undermine sanctions against Russia, and not to provide any form of support to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

…They also discussed their ongoing efforts to support the democratic forces inside and outside of Belarus….

They took stock of U.S. and EU efforts to counter the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation and to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian energy. They underscored that the United States and EU stand with Russian civil society, independent journalists, and youth….hey also recognized continued U.S.-EU cooperation toward…stability in the wider region, including [the] South Caucasus.

Under Secretary Nuland and Deputy Secretary General Mora decided to continue meetings in this dialogue, with the next high-level meeting to take place in late 2022.