Psaki: the US hasn't initiated a new cold war with Russia

US Department of State spokesperson Jen Psaki has refuted former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's recent statement that the US had dragged Russia into a new Cold War.

“We disagree,” Psaki said about Gorbachev’s comments.

She stressed that "the United States continues to work with Russia on various issues including Iran, Syria, and the Middle East". “We have discussions about a range of issues, even the tensions on the ground of Ukrainian conflict. That’s continuing.”

Psaki said that sanctions “have had an enormous impact on the economy of Russia,” but that it was up to the country and Russian President Vladimir Putin to “make a choice” whether to see the sanctions eased or “continue down this detrimental path.”

She also noted that the United States "continue to support Ukraine".

At the same time Psaki supported the continuation of the negotiations. "We think talking and negotiating is an important thing. Obviously, implementing the Minsk protocols, which have been in place, which have been agreed to, is the action steps that the separatists and Russia can take," the representative of the US State Department concluded.