The Russian Foreign Ministry has published drafts of an agreement between Russia and the U.S. on “security guarantees.”
According to a press release issued by the Foreign Ministry, during a meeting on December 15, the draft treaty “on security guarantees and an agreement on measures to ensure the security of the Russian Federation and NATO member states” was handed over to the U.S.
In particular, articles 5-7 of the draft treaty provide the following:
- NATO pledges to exclude further enlargement, including through the accession of Ukraine to the alliance;
- NATO undertakes not to conduct military activities on the territory of Ukraine, as well as other countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia;
- Russia and NATO will not deploy land-based intermediate-range or shorter-range missiles in areas from which they are capable of engaging targets on each other’s territory;
- Russia and NATO will not conduct military exercises and other military activities beyond the brigade level in a band of agreed latitude and configuration on each side of the borderline of the Russian Federation and the states that are in a military alliance with it, as well as NATO members.
“We expect that based on our draft agreement and arrangement, the United States will soon enter into serious negotiations with Russia on an issue critical to maintaining peace and stability,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. would not discuss the proposals without the participation of its European partners.
“We will not compromise [on] the key principles on which European security is built, including [the provision that] all countries have the right to determine their future and foreign policy without outside interference,” Psaki was quoted as saying by golosameriki.com.
In November, several reputable Western publications published articles that cited intelligence data to prove that Russia was concentrating its troops on the border and planning a major offensive on Ukrainian territory. On November 21, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, Kyrylo Budanov, said that Russia was preparing to attack by late January-early February. He noted that Belarus’s territory would be used for the invasion, among other things.
The Ukrainian issue was the No. 1 topic for talks between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin on December 7. During the online meeting, the U.S. president warned that “the United States and its allies will respond with strong economic and other measures if the situation escalates.” According to media reports, in response to the Russian invasion, the U.S. might also agree to disconnect Russia from the SWIFT system.
