The US is determined to give Russia a quick response on its proposed security guarantees, US Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan said.
“We are determined to move quickly. But this takes some time on our part, because we have to coordinate our actions with our NATO allies, ”he said in an interview with Kommersant.
According to Sullivan, one of the documents presented by Moscow is an agreement between Russia and NATO, so here it is necessary to conduct a dialogue with the alliance. The latter also does not hesitate with this issue, the ambassador noted.
Sullivan was unable to say when the bottom line from the security assurance negotiations would emerge. However, the United States and its partners are focused on dialogue with Moscow and want to resolve everything without delay, the diplomat emphasized, noting that the documents were handed over to Washington just a week ago.
On November 18, at an expanded meeting of the collegium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 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. Washington confirmed receipt of the papers. During his annual press conference yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that guarantees must be provided “now” and “immediately.”
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