El Pais newspaper publishes US and NATO response on Russia's security guarantees

According to the authors of El Pais, the document published on the official website is the response of the United States and NATO "to the agreement proposed by the Russian Federation on December 17." The news agency RIA Novosti drew attention to the publication.

The publication recalls that Russia published its proposals to NATO and the United States on security guarantees at the end of 2021.

Among the proposals of the Russian Federation was the demand from the West for guarantees of refusing further expansion of NATO to the east, refusing to include Ukraine in NATO and a ban on the creation of military bases in post-Soviet countries. In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded the withdrawal of NATO and US troops from the Russian borders to the 1997 positions.

Recall that negotiations on security guarantees between Russia, the US and NATO have been going on since the beginning of January. The first meetings on January 10 and 12 ended in a diplomatic fiasco for the Russian Foreign Ministry and led to the collapse of the ruble. Initially, the Russian Federation received only a verbal response from Western partners, and this response did not suit the Russian side, which was officially announced by representatives of the Foreign Ministry, who noted that they intended to wait for the official document to appear.

The United States and NATO sent their written response to Russia's proposals to the Russian Foreign Ministry on January 26. Copies of these responses were also handed over to the Ukrainian side. A number of countries - for example, Finland - said that they would prepare their own separate proposals to the Russian Federation.

The head of the US State Department, Anthony Blinken, noted that the document contains "very positive things" and reflects US concerns about Russia's security actions and proposals on areas where countries can find common ground. At the same time, the US and NATO insist that Russia cannot tell the Alliance who to accept and who not to include in the organization.