ZDeputy Foreign Minister Grushko: Russia is going to study the proposals of the United States and NATO on security In Moscow, they are going to “read” and “study” the ideas put forward by the West, said Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko. According to the NATO Secretary General, the alliance will not refuse Ukraine, but offered Russia areas where cooperation is possible
John Sullivan
Russia is going to study NATO’s written response on security guarantees. This was stated by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, Interfax reports.
“Let’s read it. Let’s study»,— he said about how long Russia will read the response to its security proposals. Grushko recalled that the United States and NATO had been studying the document from Russia for a month and a half.
This is the first official reaction to the documents received from the United States and NATO. Prior to that, the Foreign Ministry’s message indicated that the Russian side had only received proposals from the West. They were brought to the Foreign Ministry by the US Ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan. The message noted that the ambassador “at his request” was received by Grushko.
The United States will not abandon the principle of “open doors” of NATO, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said earlier. According to him, this is contained in Washington’s responses to Moscow’s proposals. The US response names areas where negotiations with Russia are possible:
- arms control regime, including the issue of missile deployment in Europe;
- ideas to increase transparency and stability in the field of security.
Blinken said that the United States is not going to publish its response and asked Russia not to do it either. Confidentiality, he said, contributes to more effective diplomacy.
Later, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance was not going to refuse other countries to join the bloc and would maintain the principle of “open doors”. He also named three areas where dialogue between the parties is possible:
- resumption of relations between Russia and NATO, including on the military line;
- discussion of Russia’s concerns;
- discussion of the exercises.
Russia handed over to the United States and published security requirements in Europe in December 2021. In the first half of January, the Russian delegation held talks with representatives of the United States, NATO and the OSCE in Geneva and Brussels. Moscow promised to evaluate their results after it receives a written response from the United States to its proposals.
One of Moscow’s main demands to the United States is to legally guarantee a ban on the admission to NATO of the countries of the former USSR, primarily Ukraine and Georgia. In case of non-compliance with the requirements, Russia reserved the right to a legitimate military-technical response to ensure its security.
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