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Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried, the top US diplomat for Europe, told a news conference on Tuesday that Washington was “ready to discuss proposals that Russia has put on the table” on security issues in Europe.
“There are some things we are prepared to work on and we believe are worth discussing“Ms. Donfried told reporters after a visit to Kiev, Moscow and Brussels.
“There are other things in those documents that the Russians know will be unacceptable“, She added, but without specifying which ones are in question.
Ms. Donfried said that the US-Russia bilateral meetings are likely to take place in January and that around this period there will be movement around talks within the NATO-Russia Council, or within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that he intends to convene a new NATO-Russia Council meeting as soon as possible during the new year.
“Any dialogue with Russia must be based on the core principles of European security and address NATO concerns about Russia’s actions. And this should be done in consultation with NATO’s European partners, including UkraineSaid Mr. Stoltenberg.
Putin blames the West for tensions in Europe
The Russian president on Tuesday reiterated his call for assurances from the United States and its allies that NATO would not expand eastward, blaming the West for “the tensions being created in Europe.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech at a meeting with the country’s top military leaders comes just days after Moscow submitted two draft proposals on security issues, urging NATO not to allow Ukraine and other countries to join. former Soviet Union alliance, as well as cancel the deployment of alliance troops in Central and Eastern Europe.
The demands, contained in two documents, a draft security treaty between the US and Russia, offered by Moscow, and a draft agreement between Moscow and NATO, were drafted amid growing tensions, for an increase in the presence of Russian military troops near Ukraine, which has raised fears of a possible attack. Russia has denied making plans to attack its neighbor, but has pushed for legal guarantees that would preclude NATO enlargement and the deployment of military equipment to the east.
President Putin said on Tuesday that if US and NATO missile systems appeared in Ukraine, the missiles would only take a few minutes to reach Moscow.
“For us, this is the most important challenge, a challenge to our securityHe added that this is why the Kremlin needs “long-term, legally binding guarantees” from the West, and not “verbal guarantees, words or promises” that Moscow can not trust, as he said.
Mr. Putin noted that NATO has expanded eastward since the late 1990s, while guaranteeing that concerns about Russia were unfounded.
“What is happening now, the tensions that are being created in Europe, are their fault (US and NATO) at every step“, Said the Russian leader. “Russia has been forced to respond. The situation was getting worse and worse. And here we are today, in a situation where we are forced to solve it in some way“.
Russia’s relations with the US plunged to lower levels after the Cold War after Moscow annexed the Crimean Peninsula, a territory of Ukraine, in 2014 and supported a separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine and still has control over to. Tensions have resurfaced in recent weeks after Moscow deployed tens of thousands of troops near the border with Ukraine.
Mr Putin has been pushing the West for assurances that NATO will not expand in Ukraine or deploy troops there, an issue he raised during a virtual phone call with US President Joe Biden two weeks ago.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that more than 120 employees of private US military companies are currently operating in two villages in war-torn eastern Ukraine, training Ukrainian troops and setting up fire positions in residential buildings and facilities. different.
Mr Putin said the United States “must understand that Russia has nowhere to withdraw”.
“What they are trying to do and plan to do on Ukrainian territory is not thousands of miles away, it is happening right on the doorstep of our houseHe said.
Mr Putin added that Moscow hoped for “constructive, meaningful talks with a visible end result and within a certain timeframe, which would guarantee equal security for all”.
“Armed conflict, bloodshed is not our choice and we do not want such developments. We want to resolve the issues by political and diplomatic means“, Said Mr. Putin.
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