The North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) may agree to withdraw its troops further from the borders with Russia, this possibility will be discussed during negotiations on security guarantees with Moscow. This was reported on Friday, January 7, by the British newspaper Daily Telegraph.
As reported by the newspaper, the alliance is ready to withdraw its troops only if tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border decrease. In particular, NATO wants to ask the Russian Federation to withdraw its troops from the border with Ukraine.
At the same time, earlier on Friday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that NATO would not commit to not expanding to the east at the talks, since the organization’s statutory documents imply the possibility of other countries that wish to join it.
He stressed that Russia is putting forward a number of “absolutely impassable” security requirements to the United States, in order to then accuse the West of a possible breakdown of the dialogue.
Earlier that day, the secretary of state announced that the United States and its allies in negotiations on security with the Russian Federation will continue to actively seek a diplomatic relaxation of tensions around Ukraine. Blinken noted that the United States will give a decisive response to further Russian aggression, but a diplomatic solution is still possible and preferable.
Also on Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance is ready to listen to Russia’s security concerns, but expects that Moscow will also hear the concerns of the alliance countries.
In recent weeks, a number of Western media outlets have reported about the alleged plans of the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine. So, on December 4, the American newspaper The Washington Post, citing officials in the US administration, reported that Russia allegedly intends to invade Ukraine at the beginning of next year, using “up to 175 thousand troops.”
Moscow has repeatedly rejected such information. So, on December 23, during a press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin added that because of such statements, one gets the impression that the Ukrainian side is “preparing a third operation” in Donbass.
Russian-American talks on strategic stability and security issues will be held on January 10 in Geneva. Thereafter, on January 12, the issue of European security and the situation in Ukraine will be discussed at a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council and on January 13 with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
