NATO is ready to discuss arms reduction with Russia. This was announced on Sunday, January 16, by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an interview with the Canadian CBC television channel.
He specified that the alliance is ready to discuss with Moscow the issue of nuclear weapons as well. Along with this, Stoltenberg called for a de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine, saying that NATO was ready to “listen to the concerns” of Russia.
At the same time, the secretary general of the organization noted that the alliance does not agree with the need to withdraw its military from NATO member countries that joined the organization after 1997. According to him, NATO allies cannot compromise “absolutely key principles of European, national security.” Stoltenberg added that with such a development of events, half of the members of the alliance will not be protected by the NATO military and will become “second-class members.”
Earlier in the day, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s relationship with NATO had reached a red line due to the alliance’s push into Ukraine. The Kremlin spokesman stressed that NATO is not a dove of peace, but an instrument of confrontation that is approaching the borders of the Russian Federation.
He also recalled that during the unification of Germany, the United States promised not to extend the infrastructure of the alliance to the east, but this was not formalized into legal guarantees.
Negotiations on security guarantees have recently taken place. They went through three stages. On January 10, a meeting of the Russian and US delegations took place in Geneva. On January 12, a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council was held in Brussels, and on January 13, consultations ended at the Vienna site of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft agreements between Russia, the United States and NATO on security guarantees. It follows from the documents that the alliance must renounce any military activity on the territory of Ukraine and other states of Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Also, Russia and NATO must pledge not to create conditions that can be regarded as a threat by the other side.
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.
