"In the Common Interest to Reduce Tensions": How Russia Proposes to the US and NATO to Build Security Relationships

The Russian Foreign Ministry has published draft agreements with the United States on security guarantees and an agreement with NATO on security measures.

According to the department, these documents were transferred to the United States.

“The American side was given the necessary explanations of the logic of the Russian approach in a detailed form, and the corresponding arguments were presented.

We hope that on the basis of our draft agreements and agreements, the United States will soon enter into serious negotiations with Russia on a critical issue for maintaining peace and stability, ”the ministry said.

In particular, the text of the draft agreement with the United States on security guarantees states that the parties must interact based on the principles of "indivisible and equal security, without prejudice to each other's security."

"(The Parties.

) do not implement security measures taken by each Party individually or within the framework of an international organization, military alliance or coalition, which would undermine the fundamental security interests of the other Party," the document says.

In addition, the agreement assumes that Russia and the United States should not use the territory of other countries to prepare or carry out an armed attack against the other side, or "other actions" that would affect its security interests.

The draft treaty also notes Washington's commitment to exclude further expansion of NATO to the east, to refuse to include countries that were formerly part of the USSR in the alliance, and from the creation of military bases on their territory, as well as the development of bilateral cooperation with them.

According to the document, the parties should also refrain from using heavy bombers, surface warships of all classes outside the national territory, "from where they can hit targets on the territory of the other side."

"The parties undertake not to deploy ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles outside the national territory, as well as in those areas of their national territory, from which such weapons are capable of hitting targets on the national territory of the other side," the draft treaty says.

We are also talking about the exclusion of the Russian Federation and the United States from the deployment of nuclear weapons outside the national territory.

The agreement on security measures for Russia and NATO member states stipulates that the parties do not strengthen their security "at the expense of the security of others."

"The participants in their relations with each other undertake to peacefully resolve all international disputes, as well as refrain from any use of force or the threat of its use in any way incompatible with the goals of the United Nations," reads one of the paragraphs of this document.

• Russian Foreign Ministry building

• RIA News

• © Maxim Blinov

Under the terms of the agreement, Russia and NATO must confirm that they do not regard each other as enemies, and the members of the alliance assume obligations that exclude its expansion, the bloc's conduct of any military activity on the territory of Ukraine, as well as other countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

As Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov emphasized, these draft documents on security with the US and NATO should be considered comprehensively, and not according to the "menu principle."

“I would like to note that both texts are not drawn up according to the principle of a menu, where you can choose one or the other, but they complement each other and should be considered as a complex,” he said during a press briefing.

Ryabkov also called on Washington to take Russian initiatives in the most serious way.

“The international situation is very tense, and it is in the common interest to find ways to reduce the tension,” the diplomat said.

Earlier, Vladimir Putin, following talks with his American counterpart Joe Biden, noted that over the previous decades, NATO's infrastructure was approaching Russia's borders.

“And now we see missile defense systems in Poland and Romania.

We have every reason to believe that the same will happen if Ukraine is admitted to NATO, but this time on Ukrainian territory.

How can we not think about it, it would be just a criminal inaction on our part: to watch weakly what is happening there, ”he said.

Political context

The US administration has confirmed that the American side will transmit to Russia its proposals for security talks next week. 

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki, in turn, said that the United States has seen Russia's proposals on security guarantees and is discussing them with NATO allies.

The North Atlantic Alliance also reported that the RF proposals have been received.

As noted by the Secretary General of the bloc Jens Stoltenberg, "any dialogue with Russia will also have to address NATO concerns about Russia's actions, be based on the basic principles and documents of European security and be carried out in consultation with NATO's European partners, such as Ukraine."

Earlier, White House spokesman Karin Jean-Pierre, commenting on the upcoming security talks between Moscow and Washington, stressed that the United States is aimed at "diplomatic progress and de-escalation."

“This is the most important thing here,” she said.

Recall that during the recent summit in video communication with the head of the White House Joe Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian Federation is seriously interested in obtaining reliable, legally fixed guarantees that would exclude NATO's eastward expansion and the deployment of offensive strike systems in countries adjacent to the Russian Federation. weapons.

• White House Chief Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin

• Reuters

• © Denis Balibouse / Pool

In addition, in response to the words of the head of the White House about the “threatening” nature of the movement of Russian troops near the Ukrainian borders, Vladimir Putin stressed that the responsibility should not be shifted to Russia, since it is NATO that is trying to develop Ukrainian territory and is building up its military potential near the borders of the Russian Federation.

It should be noted that Washington has repeatedly accused Moscow of allegedly "aggressive" actions against the Ukrainian side, but the Russian Federation categorically rejected such statements.

Thus, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, on the air of RT DE called false reports about the desire of the Russian side to attack Ukraine, stressing that "this is a fake, disinformation campaign" aimed at creating an image of Russia as an aggressor and additional tension.

In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry previously emphasized that a dialogue between Russia and the United States on security is urgently needed in conditions when relations between the Russian Federation and the West continue to degrade and have come to a critical point.

“Instead of curbing their Ukrainian protégés, NATO countries are pushing Kiev to take aggressive steps.

Otherwise, one cannot interpret the more frequent unscheduled exercises of the United States and its allies in the Black Sea.

Aircraft of NATO member countries, including strategic bombers, regularly make provocative overflights and dangerous maneuvers near the borders of Russia.

The military development of the territory of Ukraine continues, the pumping of the country with weapons, ”the Russian Foreign Ministry said on December 10.

Negotiation path

Experts call the signing of the draft agreements on security guarantees with the United States and an agreement on security measures with NATO, proposed by Russia, practically the only way to both reduce tensions between the parties and defuse the situation on a global scale.

Political analysts draw attention to the fact that it is Russia and the United States, as the largest nuclear powers, that bear a special responsibility for security in Europe.

“The position of Russia, reflected in these documents, is extremely clear, it is clearly and consistently stated.

This is, in fact, the quintessence of the Russian approach, which consists in resolving existing contradictions through negotiations, "said Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State Pedagogical University, in an interview with RT.

According to him, these initiatives of Moscow are a tool for creating an understandable and internationally confirmed security system.

“There are clauses in the treaty and agreement, according to which some mechanism is built to reduce the degree of confrontation between Russia and the United States, as well as the collective West, by forming an international legal security system and reaffirming commitment to fulfilling obligations under international law,” the analyst said.

Shapovalov called Moscow's initiative to conclude new agreements with Washington and NATO as extremely urgent against the backdrop of a constant escalation of tensions along the perimeter of Russian borders.

“Russia cannot feel safe in the face of a sharp increase in the militaristic component in the actions of the North Atlantic Alliance and the United States, which have a pronounced anti-Russian character.

This cannot but inspire serious concern, ”the expert explained.

From his point of view, the security documents proposed by Moscow are extremely important in the light of the hypothetical drawing of Ukraine into NATO with the prospect of the appearance of strike missile systems near the borders of the Russian Federation with a minimum flight time to central Russia, Shapovalov said.

“This creates colossal threats to the security of the Russian Federation, and Moscow's proposals could normalize the situation, reduce the intensity of tension.

It is in Russia's interests that the United States and NATO are absent on its borders.

The Russian Federation has the right to its security belt, ”he said.

Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, admits that the signing of two documents with the United States and NATO is quite possible, since the United States and the West as a whole are not interested in Ukraine's integration into the alliance, as well as in providing it with significant assistance.  

“The bloc is increasingly talking about the need to consolidate it, not expand.

Moreover, the admission of new members to the alliance, including Ukraine, will cost NATO and, in particular, the United States, very expensive, "the analyst said in a commentary on RT.

• NATO flag

• Reuters

• © Pascal Rossignol

According to Blokhin, all parties are interested in reducing tensions in Moscow's relations with Washington and NATO.

“This interest is mutual.

The bloc led by the United States would not at all want to bring the situation to an armed conflict with the Russian Federation, for which they are clearly not ready, ”the expert explained.

As Shapovalov emphasized, Russia's desire to sign security documents with the United States and NATO is yet another evidence that the Russian Federation is not interested in any conflicts, but strives for peace and stability.

“Without a doubt, if this treaty and agreement are signed, they will become a guarantee of security in Europe.

Thus, Russia acts not only from the standpoint of protecting its national interests, but also from the standpoint of protecting peace in Europe as a whole, "he concluded.