Foreign Ministry unveiled Moscow's response to the United States on security guarantees

US Ambassador Sullivan was invited to the office of the Foreign Ministry in Moscow specifically to deliver the answer, RIA Novosti notes.

A copy of the answer is published on the page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in the social network Facebook . It is noteworthy that immediately after the publication of the letter, the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry stopped working . After receiving the document, the US ambassador left the Foreign Ministry without comment, TASS notes.

The message conveyed to Sullivan, in particular, notes that "the American side did not give a constructive response to the basic elements of the draft treaty with the United States prepared by the Russian side on security guarantees."

Among the fundamental points of the proposals, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates the refusal to further expand NATO, guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia will not be admitted to NATO, as well as NATO's refusal to create military bases on the territory of the states of the former USSR. A separate proposal concerns the return of NATO's military capabilities and infrastructure to the state recorded in 1997 when the Russia-NATO treaty was signed.

The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the United States ignored the "package nature of Russian proposals", from which only "convenient" topics were chosen, suitable for "twisting" and creating advantages for the United States and its allies.

“In the absence of the readiness of the American side to agree on firm, legally binding guarantees to ensure our security from the United States and its allies, Russia will be forced to respond, including through the implementation of measures of a military-technical nature,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a response.

The Foreign Ministry stressed that Russia is not planning any invasion of Ukraine, as the United States claims.

“The loss of territorial integrity by the Ukrainian state is the result of the processes that have taken place within it,” the Foreign Ministry explained, emphasizing that the issue of Crimea’s ownership is “closed.”

Russia does not recognize itself as a participant in the conflict in Donbass and rejects any accusations against it in this regard, refusing to withdraw troops from the Ukrainian border.

“We proceed from the fact that the deployment of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on its territory does not and cannot affect the fundamental interests of the United States. We would like to remind you that there are no our forces on the territory of Ukraine,” the agency stressed, pointing out that Russia demands the withdrawal of “all US armed forces and weapons stationed in CEE, SEE and the Baltic states.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it "unacceptable" when the fundamental interests of the Russian Federation in the field of security are ignored, and Russia's inalienable right to ensure them is rejected.

The ministry emphasized that Russian security proposals "are of a package nature and should be considered as a whole without singling out its individual components."

The answer to its proposals received from the United States on January 26 did not suit Russia. The Foreign Ministry said that "the United States and NATO are defending their interests to the detriment of others."

Simultaneously with the publication of the answer, it became known about a major diplomatic scandal: the expulsion from the Russian Federation of Deputy US Ambassador Bart Gorman. The US embassy said the US is now preparing a retaliatory measure. Bart Gorman was one of the key figures in the American embassy in Moscow. He was responsible for key aspects of Russian-American relations, according to the embassy website.

“Russia's actions against the US Deputy Ambassador were unfounded. We view this move as an escalation in relations and are exploring possible response options,” the embassy spokesman said.