Moscow: Russian and US negotiators will sit for the initial talk next year to discuss Moscow’s request for Western Guarantee attend NATO’s expansion to Ukraine, Russian Top Diplomat said on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia in January will also start a separate conversation with NATO to discuss this issue, adding that separate negotiations under the auspices of the organization for security and cooperation in Europe will also be held.
Last week, Moscow submitted a draft security document that demanded that NATO refuse membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet countries and roll back the military spread of alliances in Central and Eastern Europe.
Washington and his allies refused to provide such promises, but said they were ready for the conversation.
Moscow presented the demands amid increasing tensions of the buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine who had triggered concerns about possible invasions.
US President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin in a conference call earlier this month that Russia will face “heavy consequences” if they attack Ukraine.
Putin has denied having a plan to launch an attack but has described NATO’s expansion to Ukraine and the spread of weapons of alliance weapons there as “red line.” “We don’t want a war,” Lavrov said on Wednesday.
“We don’t want to take a confrontation path.
But we will strongly ensure our security using the means we consider necessary.” Speaking in direct interviews with Russia RT Television, Lavrov praised the approach “like business” Washington which helps quickly approve the parameters of the future talks.
He added that Moscow would be ready to consider Washington’s demands, but warned that conversation should not drag unlimited.
“I hope that they will take us seriously with the movements we take to ensure our defense skills,” he said.
US Secretary Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Washington worked with European allies to overcome what he called “Russian aggression” with diplomacy but said Biden opposed the type of guarantee sought by Putin.
“The President has been very clear to many years, many years about some of the basic principles that no one moves back: the principle that one country does not have the right to change by forcing the border of others, that one country does not have the right to dictate other people’s policies or To say that the country with whom they can get along, “Blinken told reporters in Washington.
“One country has no right to exert the influence space.
The idea must be reduced to the historical trash.” Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov also praised reaching a quick deal at the beginning of the conversation, but noted that they had to be “aimed at achieving concrete results and not pulled out.” He added that Moscow expected Washington to present a detailed platform for talks and ready for constructive discussion.
“We want this talk,” he said in a conference call with reporters.
“And, of course, talks are held to discuss their respective positions.”