Moscow hands draft security agreement to Washington, hopes to start talks soon — MFA

MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. Russia submitted draft agreements on security guarantees and measures to ensure the security of Russia and NATO to the United States on December 15, Moscow hopes that Washington will enter into talks soon, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday. "During the meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry on December 15, the American side received draft agreements between the Russian Federation and the United States on security guarantees and on security measures for the Russian Federation and the member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. We expect that on the basis of our draft agreements the US will enter into serious talks with Russia on this issue, which is critically important for maintaining peace and stability," the ministry said. Moscow supplemented the draft documents with a detailed explanation of the logic of the Russian approach as well as with corresponding arguments, the ministry added. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on NATO to start substantive negotiations in order to provide Russia with reliable and long-term security guarantees. The head of state clarified that Russia needs legal guarantees, since the promises previously made by its Western colleagues had not been fulfilled. As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told the US President’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that the Russian side was ready to immediately begin negotiations on draft documents on security guarantees. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov will represent Russia during the negotiations on this topic. Read more