On Friday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry published a document detailing security proposals it put forward to the US and NATO as Moscow is eager to begin negotiating for guarantees from the Western powers.
The requests reflect statements from Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials that have been made over the past month as tensions have been simmering over Ukraine. One of Moscow’s main concerns is over NATO’s eastward expansion.
According to Russia’s Tass news agency, the document says the US should “take measures to prevent further eastward expansion” of NATO and ensure no more former Soviet states, such as Ukraine, join the military alliance. The Russians want the US to pledge not to build any bases or use military infrastructure in former Soviet states that are not NATO members.
The proposal calls for the US and Russia to refrain from deploying military forces to areas where such deployments can be viewed as a threat.
The document reads: “The Parties shall refrain from flying heavy bombers equipped for nuclear or non-nuclear armaments or deploying surface warships of any type, including in the framework of international organizations, military alliances or coalitions, in the areas outside national airspace and national territorial waters respectively, from where they can attack targets in the territory of the other Party.”
Over the past year, the US and its NATO allies have stepped up military activity in the Black Sea, near Russian territory. In November, Moscow said US bombers were rehearsing attacks on Russia and came within 12.4 miles of the country’s borders.
Russia repeated a call in its proposal for a moratorium on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles that were previously banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which the US withdrew from in 2019.
The proposal also addressed the deployment of nuclear weapons. “The Parties shall refrain from deploying nuclear weapons outside their national territories and return such weapons already deployed outside their national territories,” the document says.
Western media reports portrayed Russia’s proposals as “tough demands” that will almost certainly be rejected. NATO officials told The New York Times that the proposal concerning NATO expansion was “unacceptable,” although they said they were still open to dialogue with Moscow.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Friday that the US was willing to negotiate the proposals with Russia. “We’re going to put on the table our concerns,” he said at a Council on Foreign Relations event. A US official told The Associated Press that Washington plans to consult with European allies on Russia’s proposals and plans to respond to Moscow sometime next week.
For their part, the Russians are eager to negotiate. “We are ready to immediately, even tomorrow — literally tomorrow, on Saturday, December 18th — to go for talks with the US in a third country,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
“The United States and European allies, in contrast, say Russia provoked the security crisis by recently deploying tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine’s border.”
Just like Iran. First, you provoke them into reacting to your provocations and then you place the blame squarely on them with the usual barrage of propaganda. Works every time.
Very well said.
The “European allies” do nothing or say nothing without permission of our Complex.
Russia should revive the Soviet Union to counter the US imperialism and balance the World….!
Has no need to do that. Former Central Asian members of Soviet Union are by far on better terms with Russia then inside former Union. As wise Bhadrakumar put it — West is autistic in its inability to grasp that Eurasean alliances are in a higher level of integration and trust level than NATO countries or other US Asian alliances. They need no paperwork to prove it.
It is time for us to wake up to new realities. Instead like adolescents we cruise into a sea of troubles. Time to grow up and sober up. Europe — whichever way we call it, define it or parse it, will will be the first to see the erosion of its taken for granted European lifestyle, if not arrogance. There is more hope for Americans.
I’m questioning my own sanity as I realize there are no European intellectuals left to argue for Europe to survive. They are doing exactly the worst thing they can do for Europe. Just like how the US ruthlessly burned Syrian fields that fed millions of Syrians, the Europeans are allowing the US to burn the fuel lines supplying Germany with its much needed power to feed Europe. Every day that goes by with Europe not defending itself from the US, Europe gets closer to an overwhelming disaster. Perhaps European intellectuals don’t exist and if history taught me anything, they never did.
They don`t have any credible Diplomats either.
The US doesn’t either. All US “diplomats” know is what they learned from the mafia.
“Europe” is a continent. Unless you expect it to slide into the ocean or something, its survival isn’t much in question.
Haha, reminds me of George Carlin. RIP. Europe is fine–the Europeans are f$&@*d
It depends on what you call survival. Europe, the continent consistes of countries, majority of which are are members of European Union and NATO. They DO need to worry. Status quo with Russia is untenable, and all European countries are participants in hostile actions agaist Russia.
There us price to oay.
You might want to read Andrei Martyanov’s latest on that:
Breaking News: Putin Is Finshed, Russia Is Dradting The Articles of Surrender To Germany.
http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2021/12/breaking-news-putin-is-finshed-russia.html
The headline is, of course, sarcasm. He has a very low opinion of European bureaucrats.
America has no allies just vassal states like Britian , EU countries claim to be Soverign Independent countries nothing could be further from the truth like Britian they are vassals to Washtington , if they were Soverign Independent counties they would have come to a security agreement long ago with Russia , but as long as the Americans are involved that will IMO never happen , the reason for that is simple a security agreement between the EU / Russia means there is no need for American military in Europe and no Political levarage either.
Putin knows the war between Ukraine and Russia is a done deal. He’s “getting ahead of the blame” by offering the West a way out. That way, when the West ignores his proposals and the war happens, and Russia takes further steps to prepare for war with NATO, he can credibly claim to have offered the West a way out and thus gain the “moral high ground.”
Read Andrei Martyanov’s list of things Russia will do if it has to: