On Friday (December 17) Russia issued a security proposal for NATO and the United States, and called for emergency talks with Washington, as tensions between Moscow and Western capitals have soared due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Russia said these far-reaching proposals, which are vital to its security, stated that NATO must not allow any new members to join a military alliance headed by the United States and called for not establishing new military bases in the former Soviet Union.
At a briefing with reporters after the publication of the draft, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that Russia is preparing to hold emergency security talks with the United States “at the earliest” Saturday.
He said: “We are ready to hold talks with the United States in a third country immediately, or even tomorrow-actually tomorrow, Saturday-with the United States in a third country,” he pointed out, “Geneva is for the Americans.”
The publication of the draft agreement-an unusual step in international diplomacy-comes at a time of tension in relations between Russia and the West, especially the war in eastern Ukraine.
The West accuses Moscow of preparing for the upcoming invasion, claiming that Russia has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers along the Ukrainian border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin denied planning to launch an attack and blamed NATO for the escalation of tensions, demanding “legal guarantees” that the alliance will not expand eastward.
Russia’s document submitted to NATO stated that Moscow and NATO should work to “prevent incidents in the Baltic and Black Sea regions” and stated that a telephone hotline should be established for “emergency contact”.
Retaliatory sanctions
It called for restrictions on the deployment of missiles and stated that NATO member states should “commit to avoid further expansion” of the organization.
At the same time, the draft security treaty for the United States stated that Washington should prevent any former Soviet Union country from joining NATO.
The clause came after Russia asked NATO to withdraw its commitment to hand over membership to the former Soviet Union, Georgia and Ukraine.
Russia also stated in the draft document that the United States should agree not to establish military bases in the former Soviet Union including Central Asia.
Western countries have discussed that if Putin launches an attack on Ukraine, it may impose coordinated sanctions on Moscow.
After the pro-Kremlin president stepped down, the ongoing conflict in the eastern part of the country erupted, killing more than 13,000 people since 2014.
US President Joe Biden warned Putin that if he launches an offensive, “sanctions he has never seen before.”
EU leaders this week urged Moscow to stop its military buildup and resume negotiations led by France and Germany.
The United States and European countries have repeatedly stated clearly that it is unlikely that Kiev will join NATO, which annoys Ukraine.
But Washington helped train the Ukrainian army and promised to provide more than $2.5 billion in funding to support the army that collapsed after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014.
As a loyal servant of the Soviet Union, Putin was frustrated when the Soviet Union collapsed. He once called the collapse “the greatest geopolitical disaster of the 20th century.”
