Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that his country will send to the United States on Thursday Moscow’s response to Washington’s proposals on the Russian Security Guarantees Initiative.
This came during a press conference held by Lavrov with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio in the Russian capital on Thursday.
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In light of escalating tensions on the common border between Russia and Ukraine, an ally of the West.
Lavrov added: “Today we will send a message to the American side (which includes Moscow’s response to US proposals),” according to the “Russia Today” news website.
He explained that the Russian response would be a written note and an email, and Moscow would publish this message hours after it was sent.
He continued, “We believe that this step (publishing the message) is necessary so that members of civil society in our countries know what is happening and what are the positions of each party.”
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On Tuesday, Lavrov and his American counterpart Anthony Blinken stressed, during a phone call, the need to increase joint work on the proposals of Russian security guarantees, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Last December, Russia submitted two draft agreements with the United States and NATO.
This is about the file of security guarantees, which has become at the heart of a series of talks held by the two sides in recent weeks.
It includes, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, “guarantees that NATO will not expand eastward at the expense of Ukraine and any other countries.”
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As well as “commitments not to deploy new American medium and short-range missiles in Europe, which leads to a radical deterioration of the security situation on the continent.”
The Russian proposals, according to the ministry, are also based on “limiting military activities in Europe and excluding the increase of the so-called forward stationed forces groups.”
Last January, NATO delivered a written response to Russia’s proposals for mutual security guarantees with Europe.
In it, he declared his rejection of Moscow’s demands to withdraw its soldiers and weapons from Eastern Europe and prevent the integration of Ukraine into the alliance.
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Washington also provided a response to that initiative that included proposals to address “other areas in which it sees the possibility of progress.”
These include arms and missile control in Europe and an agreement to the 2011 Nuclear Weapons Convention, known as New START.
It imposes limits on the number of nuclear weapons in the US and Russian arsenals.
