US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in an interview with the Suddeutsche Zeitung that Russia's position on security, outlined in the response to Washington, fundamentally contradicts the basic principles of the United States.

Moscow is taking a position "which fundamentally contradicts the basic principles that we have defined for ourselves," Blinken said.

According to him, if the Kremlin continues to insist on its demands and wants to "send NATO to the positions of 1997", then Washington and Moscow will have nothing to agree on.

The US could take steps to strengthen collective security if it were "confidence building, risk reduction, participation in arms control, verification of the deployment of weapons systems, forces or exercises on a reciprocal basis," the US official said.

Blinken also suspected Russia of seeking to "recreate the Soviet empire." He pointed out that Russia should show Western countries a desire for dialogue and explain what exactly it is striving for in the international arena, otherwise "there is nothing to work with."

He explained that he had previously exchanged texts with his Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov on proposals for security guarantees, and Moscow in its response adheres to those positions that do not allow finding common ground for further constructive dialogue.

At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine would not "bow low" to countries that provide military assistance to Kiev, since the latter is a contribution to the "security of Europe and the world." His country needs security guarantees from leading countries while it is not itself a member of NATO, Zelensky added. He demanded from the West "honest answers to questions about the prospects for Ukraine's membership in the EU and NATO."

bbabo.Net