Russia is interested in an early response from the United States and NATO to proposals for security guarantees, said the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov.
“There can be no deadlines here. We are interested in this as soon as possible, ”said Peskov (quoted by TASS).
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft agreements with the United States and agreements with NATO on guarantees and security. The documents imply a refusal from the alliance’s deployment of ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles outside its territory and a refusal to expand the organization’s military bloc to the east. On December 21, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Washington, in response to Russia’s proposals on security guarantees in Europe, will present its own list of concerns.
On December 23, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO has never made promises not to expand to the East. Each country has the right to join the alliance, which is spelled out in several documents.
The Russian side received an offer from the North Atlantic Alliance to hold a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council in January and is now considering it, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova during a briefing.
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