Russia delivered a written response on Thursday over security guarantees it wants from the United States and NATO, as the United Nations Security Council and European Union leaders meet to discuss the Ukraine crisis, amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to defuse a possible party.

Today, the US ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, received the Russian response to a previous US response to the Russian proposals regarding security guarantees.

In the written response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia had no plans to invade Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also said that Washington's unwillingness to agree with Moscow would prompt it to respond through technical military measures, and demanded that NATO not expand to the east, and the withdrawal of US forces from the Baltic states and Central and Eastern Europe.

The Russian response to the American proposals stated that Russia's insistence on withdrawing its forces from certain areas on its territory is unacceptable, and that the presence of Russian forces on its soil does not undermine American security.

The Russian response on security guarantees also stated that reducing military risks is not possible without NATO abandoning its actions that threaten Russia, according to Interfax.

Al-Jazeera correspondent Amin Dergami referred to previous statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in which he stated that his country was satisfied with part of the response provided by the United States and NATO regarding security guarantees.

In a press conference with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, Lavrov announced that his country considers it impossible to resume work in the joint council with NATO.

For his part, the Italian Foreign Minister said that his country is working to avoid imposing new sanctions on Russia.

In Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that it is important that diplomats and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe remain in Ukraine, adding that monitoring activities are an additional deterrent to Russia.

The previous session of the Security Council on Ukraine witnessed an exchange of accusations between the United States and Russia (European News Agency)

Security Council session

The Security Council session will be held at the request of Russia, two weeks after a session called by the United States, during which the two sides exchanged accusations regarding the current tensions over Ukraine.

And Reuters news agency said that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken canceled a foreign trip to participate in an emergency session of the Security Council.

But the US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield, confirmed that Blinken would not attend the session so as not to distract attention from a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A number of European leaders ahead of their summit in Brussels (Anadolu Agency)

European summit

In parallel, European leaders are discussing today in Brussels the Ukrainian crisis, and this comes amid threats by the EU countries to impose sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine.

EU foreign policy representative Josep Borrell stressed that European leaders are united on possible sanctions against Russia.

And a European official said earlier today that the European summit will not discuss the imposition of certain new sanctions on Russia because this issue raises a dispute among the member states of the European Union.


Ongoing diplomatic action

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss arrived in Kiev as part of a European tour to redouble diplomatic efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

The British Foreign Office said that the minister will stress in Kiev the importance of the principle of national sovereignty and support for Ukraine, and appeals to Moscow to avoid war and urges it to pursue diplomacy.

The ministry added that while the minister stresses the West's readiness for dialogue, she will also "be clear in her threats to the Russians that if they decide to continue the path of aggression, there will be serious consequences that will lead to heavy economic costs for Russia."

It is also expected that the minister will hold meetings with her counterparts in Poland and Germany and attend the Munich meetings in Germany next Saturday.

Before traveling to Kiev, the British Foreign Secretary warned that Russia was preparing to test the strength of the West, by delaying the confrontation on the Ukrainian border for a few months.

In an article for The Telegraph, Truss warned against indulging in what she described as a false sense of security due to Russia's allegations that it is withdrawing its forces.

The British minister considered that what is currently taking place is a decisive test for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and free democracies to confront what she described as Russian aggression.

As part of diplomatic moves to contain tensions over Ukraine, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio visited Moscow and met his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

For his part, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stressed today during a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin the need to reach a diplomatic solution to the crisis.