A high-ranking US administration spokesman said during a telephone briefing that Washington is ready to discuss with Moscow limiting the scale of military exercises, as well as the non-deployment of American missiles in Ukraine, TASS reports.
“Russia says its security is also under threat from US and NATO exercises. So we are ready to explore the possibility of mutual restrictions on the size and scale of such exercises, ”the official said.
According to him, we are talking about both ground maneuvers and flights of strategic bombers near the territory of both sides.
The official also indicated that the White House and the Kremlin could reach a consensus in negotiations on the issue of non-deployment of missiles in Ukraine.
“Russia said it felt threatened by the prospect of deploying offensive missile systems in Ukraine. As President (US Joe -) Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin, the United States does not intend to do so. So this is one of the areas where we can reach an understanding if Russia is ready to give reciprocal obligations, ”he said.
At the same time, the number of American troops in Eastern Europe, as noted by the representative of Washington, is not on the agenda. In addition, he pointed to the existence of things that the US will never agree to.
"For example, it is not for Russia to decide for other countries with whom they can be allies, these decisions can only be made by these countries and the alliance," the official added.
Earlier in January, NBC News, citing a source, said the United States could negotiate with Russia to reduce the number of its troops in Eastern Europe.
On January 4, NATO confirmed that negotiations with the Russian Federation on security guarantees will take place on January 12, 2022. The alliance noted that "the dialogue with Russia should be conducted on the basis of reciprocity, to respond to NATO's concerns about Russian actions."
On December 15, the Russian Foreign Ministry handed over to the American side drafts of an agreement between Russia and the United States on security guarantees and an agreement on measures to ensure the security of the Russian Federation and the NATO member states. The document, in particular, states that the United States should not create military bases in the territories of the former USSR countries that are not NATO members.
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