The American side will not agree with Russia’s proposals concerning NATO, but may agree with the rest, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a briefing.
“Russia has submitted proposals, with some we would agree, with some, for example, concerning NATO, of course not,” said Psaki (quoted by TASS). She added that the place and timing of the talks between Russia and the United States has not yet been determined, but this is the beginning of January. Psaki noted that Russia is preparing for the meeting, which will be held through the diplomatic departments. The administration of US President Joe Biden is also working on diplomatic negotiations, she added.
On November 18, at an enlarged meeting of the Foreign Ministry collegium, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the need to obtain long-term guarantees from NATO countries to ensure the country’s security. The head of state has repeatedly spoken about the risks of moving the alliance eastward. He stressed that the country cannot constantly exist and think about what will happen tomorrow.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a draft treaty with the United States and an agreement with the NATO military alliance on guarantees and security. In particular, the documents imply a refusal to deploy medium and shorter-range ground-based missiles outside its territory and a refusal to expand the NATO military bloc to the east.
On December 22, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that negotiations on security guarantees would take place in January 2022, and on December 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin added that they would be held in Geneva. The Russian side will be represented by Sergei Ryabkov at the talks.
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