Russia has put forward a very controversial list of security guarantees and expressed the hope that the West will agree to ease tensions in Europe and defuse the crisis. Ukraine, Including many elements that have been excluded.
The requirements include a ban on entry to Ukraine Then And restricting the deployment of troops and weapons to the east wing of NATO actually allows NATO troops to return to their location before their eastward expansion in 1997.
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs releases eight-point draft treaty Gathered within an astonishing distance of the Ukrainian borderMoscow stated that ignoring its interests would lead to a “military response” similar to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Vladimir Putin asked the West to provide “legal guarantees” for Russia’s security. But the Kremlin’s radical proposal may be rejected in Western capitals because it attempts to formalize Russia’s new sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.
These requirements were put forward in full by Moscow for the first time and were handed over to the United States this week. This includes asking NATO to remove any troops or weapons deployed to countries that joined the alliance after 1997, including most of the east. EuropeIncluding Poland, the former Soviet Union countries Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Balkan countries.
Russia also asked NATO to rule out the possibility of further expansion, including Ukraine’s joining the alliance, and not to conduct exercises without Russia’s prior consent. Russia In Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Caucasus countries, such as Georgia or Central Asia.
NATO countries, especially Poland and the Baltic countries, are likely to take an extremely negative attitude towards these proposals. They warned that Russia is trying to re-establish its sphere of influence in the region and view the document as evidence that Moscow is trying to limit its sovereignty.
A senior US official said on Friday that the Kremlin knew that some parts of its proposal were “unacceptable.”
NATO head Jens Stoltenberg has ruled out any agreement that deprives Ukraine of the right to join the military alliance, saying it depends on Ukraine and 30 NATO countries. There are already major obstacles for Ukraine to join the alliance, including the territorial dispute with Russia over the annexation of Crimea.
The Russian document also calls on the two countries to withdraw any short-range or intermediate-range missile systems that are out of reach to replace the previous Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty that the United States withdrew in 2018.
According to Reuters, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the United States has seen Russia’s proposal to initiate negotiations and is in dialogue with its European allies and partners.
“Without our European allies and partners, there would be no negotiations on European security,” Psaki told reporters.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Friday that there is no deadline for negotiations, but Russia hopes to start negotiations “without delay.”
“We can go anywhere and any time, even tomorrow,” he said in a vivid comment.
When asked if he thought these requirements were unreasonable, he said no. “It’s not about us issuing some kind of ultimatum, no. The problem is that the severity of our warning should not be underestimated,” he said.
Dmitry Trenin, head of the Carnegie Moscow Center, wrote that Russia’s public release of its proposed agreement “may indicate that Moscow [rightly] I think they are unlikely to be accepted by the West.”
“This logically means [Russia] Will have to ensure its security separately, most likely by military technology [military technical] Means,” he wrote.
Western countries have warned that Russia may be preparing to invade Ukraine in January as Russian tanks, artillery and missiles have assembled near the border. Ukrainian President Zelensky called on the West to provide additional assistance in case Russia decides to launch a wider offensive.
On Friday, Ukraine stated that one of its soldiers had been killed in a battle with Russia-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country. According to reports, he was killed in an attack using grenade launchers and mortars.
According to statistics from Agence France-Presse, based on official data, the latest deaths have brought the number of deaths in Ukraine’s brewing conflicts since the beginning of this year to 65, compared with 50 in 2020. The conflict in eastern Ukraine has so far killed more than 13,000 people.
Russia has assembled about 100,000 soldiers on the side of its border. Joe Biden warned Putin that if his army attacks Ukraine, “the sanctions he has never seen.”On Thursday, EU leaders Urge Moscow to stop its military buildup And back to the talks led by France and Germany.
