With fears growing about the Ukraine war, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that he expects conversations with the US on Moscow's security needs to begin in January.
His remarks come after Karen Donfried, the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, told reporters Tuesday that she understands talks with Russia will start in January, but that some Russian proposals are "unacceptable." Last week, Moscow presented the West with sweeping security demands in two draft documents, one addressed to NATO and the other to the US.
Russia expects security talks with US, NATO
"We also intend to do this in January," Lavrov said, adding that such talks will be followed by conversations between Russia and NATO. "Today, Europe's security is under attack," the European Union said in a statement on Wednesday, appealing to the US and NATO to protect its interests, as per NDTV.
Lavrov had warned the US not to drag out any discussions and reaffirmed that, while Russia did not want to be involved in a confrontation, it was prepared to protect itself.
The West has accused Russia of preparing for an invasion of Ukraine. It disputes the allegations and has requested legal assurances from the US and NATO about its security, as well as a halt to NATO's eastward expansion.
Even while Russia has massed as many as 175,000 troops and heavy equipment on its border with Ukraine, raising concerns of an invasion, Putin has blamed the West for the heightened tensions in Eastern Europe.
The Russian strongman has denied that he intends to strike, but he has drawn a "red line" against the West's deployment of missile systems in the former Soviet republic. If Russia strikes Ukraine, President Biden, who met with Putin virtually earlier this month, has warned of "grave repercussions" in the form of punishing economic penalties, NY Post reported.
Russia will "deploy missiles" if the West fails to deliver security guarantees, according to Dmitry Kiselev, a Putin confidant and the head of state-controlled media outlet Rossiya Segodnya. In addition to guarantees against NATO expansion, Russia has demanded that the alliance roll back its military presence in Central and Eastern Europe.
US, allies warn Russia about Ukraine crisis
The US and its allies have cautioned Russia about the dangers of more conflicts as it continues to build up its military along the Ukraine border, which US intelligence believes is a precursor to a full-scale invasion in early 2022.
While NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated on Tuesday that the alliance is willing to engage in "serious engagement" with Russia, he also stated that the coalition will continue to help Ukraine "politically and practically."
In the meanwhile, Karen Donfried, the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, and the Biden administration's top European diplomat warned the US and Europe were ready to respond quickly if Russia expanded its aggression against Ukraine in the coming days.
Donfried would not go into detail about the possibilities being explored, but he did say that no penalty option is off the table. According to a draft plan published Friday by Russia's foreign ministry, Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked for security guarantees from the US and NATO, including a binding commitment that NATO would not expand farther east and will not allow Ukraine to join the military alliance.
He has blamed contemporary European tensions on NATO's expansion after the demise of the Soviet Union, claiming that Russia has been driven to retaliate. Donfried has also indicated that the next round of discussions will take place in January, as per CNN.
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