Russia continues to analyze Washington's reaction to security guarantees, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said. According to him, in the answers of the US and NATO "there are enough elements of unacceptable statements of the question." The diplomat urged the United States to engage "in a meaningful dialogue on this topic" and provide a serious response to the demands instead of claims against Russia. Russia has taken seriously the US response proposals on security guarantees, including specific transparency and confidence-building measures. This was stated to journalists by Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Ryabkov.

“We have taken seriously those considerations on specific measures of transparency, confidence-building, risk reduction, which are contained, in particular, in the American document,” Ryabkov said. “In the NATO [answer], by the way, the percentage of rudeness and defiant language is much higher compared to the American one, although the American one also has enough elements of unacceptable questions,” he said.

The Deputy Minister recalled that Moscow's key demands are the inadmissibility of the appearance of strike systems near the borders of Russia, the non-expansion of NATO and the return of the alliance to the positions it held in 1997, at the time of signing the Founding Act.

“These are imperative requirements of the Russian side. Chatting them up, drowning them in verbiage, which the OSCE is engaged in, will not work, we will not allow this, ”the Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized.

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Discussion of mutual inspections

According to the text of the US response to Russia's proposals, Washington is ready to discuss with Moscow the possibility of inspecting missile defense facilities in Poland and Romania in exchange for inspecting Russian facilities. Answering the question whether such a proposal suits Moscow, Ryabkov said: “We are not plunging into the matter of the specifics of this proposal now, because the main thing for us is to understand whether the other side is ready to continue a serious conversation on non-expansion of NATO.”

According to the diplomat, “if it turns out that this conversation really goes on, and does not close again on senseless moralizing and an attempt to explain to us the completely discredited Western logic of the approach to security issues,” if Moscow and Washington can move towards a more substantive and result-oriented discussion , "then the situation with the American proposal for these inspections will look different."

At the moment, the diplomat stressed, this US proposal is "nothing more than a signal of the seriousness of the perception of the issue raised by Russia." “There is no reason to deal with the specifics of American ideas in the absence of an understanding that there is at least the slightest gap in the non-expansion of NATO,” he concluded.

Claims instead of a serious reaction

According to the diplomat, Moscow continues to analyze Washington's reaction to security guarantees.

“We are now focused on completing the analysis of the reaction [of the United States], it continues to come,” the deputy foreign minister said.

Ryabkov advised Western countries to provide a serious response to security demands instead of claims against Moscow. “Instead of an in-depth discussion of problems in this area, we heard a stream of moralizing, and at times formulated in a rather defiant manner.”

“Russia demands from the collective West, first of all, from the United States as a conductor of what is happening, a serious reaction to our demands,” the diplomat said.

Ryabkov urged the United States to engage "in a deep, meaningful dialogue on this topic." According to the diplomat, Washington should "conduct this dialogue behind closed doors." He "pointed out that Russia is focused on quiet diplomatic work, while the West often resorts to publicity and" megaphone diplomacy ".

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Contacts on different lines

Ryabkov said that Moscow maintains contacts on different lines on the subject of security guarantees on a daily basis.

“Most important talks [take place] every day. But we continue through other channels, and colleagues continue to communicate appropriately, ”said Ryabkov.

He stressed that Moscow is continuing to prepare a response to the considerations submitted earlier by the US and NATO on Russian draft documents on security guarantees.

“We are preparing our answer. The situation will be reported to the President [of Russia Vladimir Putin], he will make appropriate decisions,” Ryabkov said. “It’s probably wrong to say that we made some kind of schedule.”

Pressure on Moscow

Ryabkov also expressed the opinion that Nord Stream 2 has become an instrument of pressure on Moscow.

US President Joe Biden said earlier that in the event of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Nord Stream 2 would "no longer exist." In response to this, Ryabkov called such statements by Western countries a "political tent circus" and declared that European countries were not independent in determining their own interests.

bbabo.Net