The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a published response to the United States that the Russian Federation considers demands for the withdrawal of troops from Russian territories that border Ukraine unacceptable.

The department noted that Moscow is alarmed by the military activity of Western countries near the borders of Russia and the unwillingness to take into accountry's "sovereign right" to protect them.

“Ultimate demands to withdraw troops from certain areas on Russian territory, accompanied by threats of tougher sanctions, are unacceptable and undermine the prospects for reaching real agreements,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier, the US authorities received a written response from Russia on the subject of security guarantees. Russian diplomats are now awaiting clear proposals on the format of NATO's legal waiver of eastward expansion.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Moscow will publish its reaction to Washington's response to Russian proposals for security guarantees a few hours after handing over the document to the American side; this will happen on February 17th.

In early February, the US and NATO refused to sign a treaty on security guarantees in Europe proposed by Russia. Western partners do not agree with the demand not to accept former Soviet countries into the alliance, which was supposed to be part of the agreement with Moscow. In addition, the US and NATO have accused Russia of "breaking the trust" that underpins cooperation between the countries because of the situation around Ukraine. Nevertheless, the West is ready to continue discussing with Moscow measures for joint disarmament and de-escalation.

bbabo.Net