The US government has not yet responded to Russia's security proposals regarding NATO's activity in eastern Europe, especially those related to Ukraine, but negotiations are expected to begin in early January, a senior Biden administration official said on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd December, 2021) The US government has not yet responded to Russia's security proposals regarding NATO's activity in eastern Europe, especially those related to Ukraine, but negotiations are expected to begin in early January, a senior Biden administration official said on Thursday.
"We're prepared to meet in early January, we have not yet set a date or location for those talks," the official said during a conference call. "In terms of our response, I expect we will have our substantive response in those talks, but we have not responded substantively to the proposals that have been made."
On Friday, Moscow published draft agreements between Russia, the United States and NATO on security guarantees. The proposals, if agreed to, would ban NATO from expanding eastward and prohibit the United States and Russia from deploying intermediate and shorter-range missiles within striking distance of each other's territory, among other terms.
The Biden administration official said Russia's security proposals include items that the United States will never agree to but there are other areas the two countries may be able to explore about possible agreement. However, at present, the United States will not respond in public to all of Russia's security proposals, which Moscow understands, the official said.
The United States and Russia will negotiate bilaterally and multilaterally through the NATO-Russia Council and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the official said.
The Biden administration believes negotiations should start from the baseline foundational principles and documents on European security, which underscores territorial integrity, borders not being changed by force and respect for sovereign decision-making, the US official said.
The United States has conveyed to Russia that substantive progress in these talks will only be possible if there is an environment of de-escalation, the official said. The official added that there is no evidence that the Ukrainian side is escalating tensions with Russia.
The United States and its European allies are ready to take serious actions against Russia in the form of severe economic sanctions should it invade Ukraine, the official said. Washington and its allies have factored the state of the world energy market into any response to possible Russian actions in Ukraine, the official noted.
On Tuesday, the head of Russia's delegation in the Vienna talks on arms control, Konstantin Gavrilov, said Moscow has a backup plan to consider if the United States and NATO do not respond to its proposal on security guarantees.
Tensions around Ukraine have been aggravated in the past several weeks by an alleged Russian troop buildup near the Ukrainian border and claims of preparations for an invasion. Moscow has repeatedly denied those accusations, pointing to NATO's military activity near Russian borders, which it deems a threat to its national security. Russia has also said it has the right to move forces within its own sovereign territory as it sees fit.
