Two leaked documents revealed on Wednesday that the United States is ready to enter into a deal with Russia to ease tensions over missile deployments in Europe if Moscow backs away from the border with Ukraine.
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The Associated Press reported that the two leaked documents published by the Spanish newspaper “El Pais” are “written responses from the United States.
And also the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) last week on Russia’s proposals for a new security arrangement in Europe.”
The agency noted that the US State Department declined to comment on the leaks, while NATO said it would never comment on the “alleged leaks.”
The text of a document attributed to NATO reviews the statements made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to the media last week.
When he clarified the position of the 30-nation military alliance on Russia’s demands, according to the agency.
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According to the agency, the document attributed to the United States states that Washington is ready to discuss.
And in consultation with its NATO partners on a “transparent mechanism to confirm the absence of “Tomahawk cruise missiles” at the “Aegis Ashore” sites in Romania and Poland.”
The document stated that this could happen on the condition that Russia provides “mutually transparent measures regarding two ground-based missile bases of our choice (the United States and NATO) in Russia,” according to the agency.
The Aegis Ashur missile defense system is used against short or medium-range missiles.
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But Russia previously claimed that the United States could attack its territory with medium-range “Tomahawk” missiles if they were deployed in “Aegis Ashore” sites.
The US document said that Washington should consult with NATO allies about the potential offer, particularly with Romania and Poland.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the leaked documents, saying only that “we have not released anything,” according to the agency.
In statements to the Russian (governmental) RIA Novosti news agency, the Russian Foreign Ministry refused to confirm or deny the authenticity of the documents published by the newspaper “El Pais”.
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In the leaked document, the United States stressed that “progress on these issues can only be made in an environment of calm regarding actions that pose a Russian threat to Ukraine.”
Recently, Western countries, led by the United States, accused Russia of massing its forces near the Ukrainian border, and Washington threatened to impose sanctions on Moscow if it launched an attack on Ukraine.
Russia rejects the accusations about the movements of its forces inside its territory and denies the existence of any aggressive plans it has towards Ukraine.
