"It can be very different": Putin spoke about the response to the possible refusal of the US and NATO from security guarantees

Moscow's response to Washington and NATO's refusal of security guarantees "can be very different," said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“It depends on the proposals that our military experts will make to me,” the Russian leader said in the Moscow.

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Putin "on the TV channel" Russia 1 ".

The President added that Moscow had offered the US and NATO security documents to achieve a diplomatic negotiating result.

“We didn’t offer anything to blackout and stop something, from the point of view of this diplomatic process.

And in order to achieve a diplomatic negotiating result, enshrined, as I said, legally, within the framework of the documents that we have proposed.

We will strive for this, ”the head of state explained.

In addition, speaking about publicizing the Russian Federation's proposals on security issues, Putin said that this is not an ordinary way to conduct a discussion, but there are fears that any Russian proposal will be used in order to "fill it with destructive work" to create threats for the Russian Federation. on the territory of neighboring countries.

“They will chat endlessly, endlessly talk about the need to negotiate and do nothing.

In addition to pumping up the neighboring country with modern weapons systems and increasing the threat to the Russian Federation, ”Putin added.

He also recalled the risk that missile systems could be delivered to Ukraine with a flight time to Moscow of "four to five minutes."

“It’s not even about the line that we don’t want anyone to cross.

The fact is that we have nowhere to go.

They pinned us to such a line, sorry for bad manners, that we have nowhere to move on!

- said the Russian leader.

- They just brought us to such a state that we have to tell them: stop!

That's the whole point. "

Putin also said that Russia's proposal to the United States and NATO countries is open, since Moscow wants Ukraine, Europe and the United States to understand what exactly Russia would like to implement in the course of the security negotiations.

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“I don't see anything bad here.

This puts all participants in the process within a certain framework.

But for us there is only one goal - to reach agreements that would ensure the security of Russia and its citizens both today and in the long term, ”the President stressed.

Russian initiative

As a reminder, on December 15, Moscow sent Washington draft agreements with the United States and a security agreement with NATO.

The first document says, in particular, that Russia and the United States do not take measures and do not carry out activities affecting the security of the other side, "do not participate in them and do not support them."

The agreement also refers to Washington's obligations to prevent further expansion of NATO to the east, to refuse to admit states that were previously part of the USSR into the alliance, to create bases on their territory and to develop bilateral military cooperation with them.

The document also deals with restrictions on the deployment of ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles, nuclear weapons, as well as the use of heavy bombers and surface warships of all classes.

In turn, the agreement with NATO states that the parties do not strengthen their security “at the expense of the security of others,” in relations between themselves they undertake to resolve all international disputes peacefully, and also “to refrain from any use of force or the threat of its use by any or in a manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations. " The agreement also presupposes the use of urgent consultation mechanisms by the parties, including the Russia-NATO Council.

In addition, according to the document, the Russian Federation and the North Atlantic Alliance must confirm that they do not regard each other as opponents, and the members of the bloc undertake obligations that exclude further NATO expansion, including the accession of Ukraine to it, as well as other states.

Moreover, the agreement states that the alliance countries refuse to conduct any military activity on Ukrainian territory, as well as in other East European, Transcaucasian and Central Asian states.

As stressed in the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow expects that on the basis of these draft agreements and agreements, the United States "in the very near future will enter into serious negotiations with Russia on a critical issue for maintaining peace and stability."

White House reaction

In Washington, the Russian side reacted to the publication of these documents in a very peculiar way.

The White House said that "no matter how Russia decides to act", the United States does not plan to "negotiate publicly" because it believes that "it is not constructive and did not contribute to the achievement of progress in such diplomatic negotiations in the past."

“We are not going to respond to all suggestions or comments, including from the Russian president,” a senior US administration official said during a December 23 press conference.

At the same time, he said that the United States is ready to start negotiations "through several channels" already in early January: on a bilateral basis within the framework of the dialogue on strategic stability that Washington is conducting with Moscow, and on a multilateral basis through the Russia-NATO Council and the OSCE. ...

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“We have taken note of the concerns that Russia is expressing both privately and publicly, and we want to re-emphasize that any dialogue must be based on reciprocity.

This means that we have our own concerns that need to be addressed.

In addition, any dialogue should take place in close coordination with our partners and allies on the principle “not a word about you without you,” said a senior US administration official.

Later that day, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States was working towards diplomatic negotiations.

“Russia has put forward a number of proposals - with some we agree, with some, of course, not.

For example, obviously, about NATO.

We are working on the details of how they (agreements.

) will look like in the end.

We also agree that diplomatic negotiations are the right way forward, ”she said.

As the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said in an exclusive interview with Vladimir Solovyov for the program “Moscow.

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Putin "on the TV channel" Russia 1 ", during the upcoming talks on security, which, as Moscow expects, will take place in January," it will immediately become clear "whether the United States is ready to" give a substantive answer. "

"Or they will still prefer to drag out the process and try to initiate such a line of long-drawn-out negotiations that will absolutely not suit the Russian side and will not suit President Putin," Peskov said.

According to him, the situation is such that a quick and concrete solution is needed that will meet Russian interests.

At the same time, the presidential press secretary stressed, the expansion of NATO's military infrastructure to the countries of the former USSR, including Ukraine, is becoming a matter of "life and death" for Russia.

"We started a dangerous game"

As the American political scientist Malek Dudakov noted in the RT commentary, Russia's security initiatives addressed to the United States and NATO, as well as statements by the Russian leadership on this topic, indicate that Moscow is pursuing a peaceful policy.

“At the same time, for the Russian side, the clause on non-expansion of the bloc to the east is one of the most important and, in my opinion, correct and topical clauses in the treaty with the United States and the agreement with NATO.

On the whole, Russia's initiative is extremely sensible and rational, ”the analyst believes.

At the same time, Dudakov called the US position hypocritical.

In his opinion, Washington continues to assume that the world is supposedly unipolar, and the United States continues to remain the world hegemon in it.

“But the era of such a world order has come to an end.

However, the US still thinks it can afford everything.

They are building up their military partnership with Ukraine, condoning Kiev's provocations near the borders of the Russian Federation, but if Russia allowed itself military cooperation with the deployment of missiles, for example, in Mexico, the US response to this would be sharply negative, ”the expert noted.

At the same time, according to Dudakov, the reaction of the United States shows that Washington was caught off guard by Russia's "frank and direct proposals."

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• © Ivan Sekretarev, file

“We were fortunate enough to see the White House in turmoil, not knowing how to react.

Their reaction from the very beginning to this day can be called blurred and hesitant.

US President Joe Biden is afraid that by supporting the Russian initiative, he will condemn himself to criticism and a flurry of accusations that he is allegedly giving up American positions in relations with Russia, "the analyst said.

However, Washington cannot refuse Moscow either, since it understands that international stability cannot be achieved without contacts with Russia, the expert emphasized.

“As a result, such an interim decision was made: the White House does not specifically react to the documents proposed by the Russian Federation, but it shows that it is ready to discuss all this,” Dudakov said.

“If the negotiation process fails, then Russia will undoubtedly reserve the right and the ability to curb the NATO offensive and the expansion of its influence by any means that are in the arsenal of the Russian Federation,” the expert said.

In turn, a member of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, retired Major General Pavel Zolotarev, recalled in a commentary to RT that the security initiatives put forward by Moscow were not born "out of nowhere."

“We are talking about specific threats or military dangers that arise due to the fact that the NATO infrastructure is rapidly approaching Russian territory and today has already reached the red line.

In the West, they started a dangerous game of drawing Ukraine into NATO, as well as other countries of the former USSR.

This is a purposeful policy, ”the analyst believes.

At the same time, Zolotarev expressed confidence that Russia and the United States would be able to agree on a number of security issues, taking into account the interests of the Russian side.

“The dialogue is not going to be easy.

However, on such topics as, for example, the prospect of deploying medium and short-range missiles in Europe in any version, including extra-nuclear, I think a solution will be found, and this is one of the most important issues apart from NATO's eastward expansion, ” concluded the expert.