The United States and allies were rejected by Russia in response to diplomatic proposals in the “spirit of reciprocity.” This was announced on Thursday, January 20, by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a speech in Berlin, which was broadcast on the website of the State Department. In his opinion, this means that Russia wants to return to the period of the Cold War.
“Now it looks like Putin wants to bring back this era. We hope not,” Blinken said.
On January 19, it became known that Blinken would meet on January 21 in Geneva with Lavrov after trips to Kiev and Berlin. On the same day, Blinken said that the American side did not plan to send Lavrov a written response to Russia’s proposals on security guarantees at the talks. According to him, it is not clear to Washington which of the Russian demands on the United States in the field of security are key for Moscow. At the same time, a number of them are unacceptable for the White House.
On January 18, it became known that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had a telephone conversation. The Ministers discussed the January 10 Strategic Stability Dialogue, the January 12 Russia-NATO Council meeting and the January 13 meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council. It is noted that at the time Blinken emphasized the importance of continuing diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions related to their concerns about the alleged Russian military buildup near Ukraine.
On the same day, Lavrov met with his German counterpart Annalena Burbock. In a conversation with her, he noted that Russia cannot accept the demands of the West regarding the actions of the Russian Armed Forces on the territory of the country. He also stressed that Russia did not give reasons to create a conflict situation around Ukraine. Burbock also noted that Germany cannot but consider the concentration of more than 100 thousand Russian troops on the border with Ukraine “as a threat.”
On January 10, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov noted that the conversation was “difficult, long, very professional, deep, specific.” He added that Moscow was hoping for NATO’s ability to understand the danger of deadlock for dialogue on security assurances and to take a step towards Russian proposals. The high-ranking diplomat also pointed out that the issue of non-expansion of NATO is key for the national security of the Russian Federation, and the settlement of this topic cannot be further postponed.
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 may be regarded by the other side as a threat.
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.
