The United States and NATO ignored Russia's key security proposals - this is the position taken by Moscow. This is also confirmed by leaks of confidential documents in the media, the authenticity of which, however, has not yet been confirmed. What does the US and NATO response mean for Russia and whether the negotiation process will continue - in the material.

What was the response of the US and NATO…

The Spanish Pais published a confidential response of the US and NATO to Russia's proposals on security guarantees. This file is published on the online page of the publication entitled "Documents provided by NATO and the United States in response to the agreement proposed by Russia on December 17".

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in a comment, declined to confirm the authenticity of US and NATO responses to Russia's proposals for security guarantees.

“Ask the American side to confirm or deny – this is their document,” Zakharova said. At the same time, a diplomatic source for RIA Novosti confirmed that

We are talking about real US and NATO responses to Russian security proposals.

The Pentagon has already denied transferring this data to the publication, stating that the United States did not publish its response to Russia.

The Pais edition notes that we are talking about two documents in English: the alliance's response on four pages and Washington's response on five pages.

The materials say that the United States is ready to discuss with Russia a mechanism for not deploying Tomahawk cruise missiles in Romania and Poland; mutual obligations to limit the deployment of offensive missile systems and forces in Ukraine; alternative START-3 agreement, affecting both new types of nuclear weapons and control of intermediate and shorter range missiles, as well as additional measures to prevent incidents at sea and in the air.

The response also states that NATO members refrain from deploying nuclear weapons in Eastern Europe.

The American side and the North Atlantic Alliance as a whole expressed their readiness to discuss the signing of a security document with Russia, but NATO said they would not compromise on issues of principle for themselves.

In particular, the organization is not ready to give guarantees that NATO will not expand to the east.

The United States called the size of the alliance's forces proportional to the Russian one and assured that they did not deploy strike groups and nuclear weapons that disturb Moscow in Eastern Europe, and the strengthening of the bloc's troops was associated with the concentration of Russian military on the border with Ukraine.

The West ignored Moscow's demand to return NATO's infrastructure to the 1997 borders.

In response to the call to abandon any military activity in the Transcaucasus, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, Russia was demanded to "withdraw troops from the territory of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova."

The alliance assured that the block remains defensive and does not pose a threat to Russia, but did not offer to fix this in the corresponding agreement.

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… and what Moscow thinks about it

As Russian President Vladimir Putin noted the day before, the responses of the US and NATO suggest that they have ignored Russia's key security provisions.

We are talking about three key issues - the non-advancement of NATO to the east, the non-deployment of strike systems near Russian borders, and a return to the 1997 treaty.

"I think that these answers in this case are useless, not suitable for our country, this is an attempt to wag the tail",

- said Yuri Shvytkin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee.

He noted that further actions on security guarantees will already be determined within the framework of the negotiation processes, from which Russia does not leave.

“But the final result is important to us, and most importantly, legally fixed answers. In any case, I question the information of the Spanish publication and have the data that the President of Russia voiced, ”stated Yuri Shvytkin.

As the deputy head of the Institute of the USA and Canada, Major General, expert of the Strategic Missile Forces Pavel Zolotarev, drew attention, the USA and NATO commented on minor points that could be implemented and would be useful - these proposals were once made by the Russian side, but then there was no reaction to them and now she is. At the same time, it is clearly visible that there is no answer to the main problem that worries Russia - the expansion of NATO -, he noted.

“It is possible to resolve key issues for Russia, but the will of the West is needed. If there was a promise in the early 1990s that NATO would not expand, why are there factors today that prevent them from making such a decision?

If there is a desire from the other side, then there will be a solution, ”the expert said.

The Russian position on many issues is unacceptable for the United States and many NATO member countries, but this does not affect the assessment of the realism of the prospects for these positions, said Dmitry Danilov, head of the European Security Department at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.“The point is that a real strategic choice needs to be made, on which the situation in the sphere of Russian security depends in the future.

This is the realism of the Russian position: one cannot continue to conduct diplomatic maneuvers around specific security issues, including disarmament issues, without answering the main question - are we really satisfied with the situation described by the parameters of a controlled confrontation, or is this a point of no return, which will lead to even greater degradation of the situation up to the risks associated with armed conflicts in Europe? This is the choice we propose to make to Western partners,” he explained.

According to him, a decision needs to be made: either somehow reverse the situation or not, and then Russia will take into account the prospect of uncontrolled confrontation in its political and strategic planning and take appropriate measurespond to the unwinding of the confrontational spiral.

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