The United States will begin to receive counter-proposals on security guarantees in response to those that Moscow handed over to Washington, after which a joint discussion of them will begin. This opinion on Monday, December 20, in an interview with Izvestia, was expressed by the director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States (Moscow State University), Yuri Rogulev.
“We know that negotiations are being prepared before the New Year [президента РФ Владимира] Putin and [американского лидера Джо] Biden via video link, so there will be some answer, but, rather, counter-proposals will start from the US side, and they, along with what Russia offers, will be discussed by advisers and aides, before the presidents can come to some kind of denominator. ” – he suggested.
At the same time, the Americanist recalled that this is not only about the United States, since proposals were made to NATO at the same time. According to Rogulev, a number of states reacted negatively to them – Poland and the Baltic states, but in some countries proposals to reach some kind of agreements in the field of security will receive a rather positive assessment.
“This is in the interests of the European peoples. These proposals of Russia came at a time when all the main agreements are collapsing, some have already ceased to operate. We do not have any fundamental agreements that would not become outdated and which could be taken as a basis, considering the current situation in the world with security, first of all, in Europe – all these problems are much closer to her body, as they say, ” noted the Americanist.
The Russian side asks for quick enough answers and reactions, and there will be some answer, but this is a lot of work and an answer for the future, concluded Rogulev.
Earlier that day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov announced that the United States had not yet responded to Russia’s proposals on security guarantees. At the same time, he allowed a positive development of relations with Washington if the United States would meet halfway on this issue. According to Ryabkov, the United States is unlikely to refuse Russia’s proposals.
However, in his opinion, the American administration may try to translate this issue into a sluggish process, while Moscow urgently needs an answer on guarantees, because the situation tends to deteriorate.
In addition, Ryabkov noted that the Russian Foreign Ministry currently does not have information about the form and content of a possible response from the United States to the security documents submitted to it. Moscow hopes that Washington is fully aware of the importance of security guarantees.
As Maria Butina, a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, suggested in an interview with Izvestia, the reaction of the US authorities to Russia’s proposals on security guarantees is likely to be a delay in the process.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft agreements between Russia and the United States and NATO on security guarantees. As follows from the documents, in particular, the alliance should refuse to conduct any military activity on the territory of Ukraine and other states of Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. The United States has promised to respond to Russia’s proposals. According to a White House source, the US presidential administration found some of the proposals useful and others unacceptable.
As Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko emphasized, Moscow’s proposals on security guarantees do not contain a hidden agenda, they are clear and frank.
