The arms control system was destroyed by the United States. This was announced on January 12 by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Grushko.
“The arms control system, which was the material basis of the Russia-NATO relationship, was destroyed by US attacks on it,” he said at a press conference following the meeting of the Russia-NATO Council.
Grushko said that Russia is ready to conduct a dialogue with NATO on the deployment of strike weapons, but “the ball is on the side of the alliance.”
“On the issue of strike weapons, we are ready for dialogue. Moreover, one of the articles of our agreement with NATO presupposes a refusal to deploy appropriate strike systems in regions from which it is possible to reach the territory of other member states of this agreement. We reiterated that we are ready to talk not only about these areas, but also about the necessary verification measures, and here the ball is more likely on the side of NATO. We have formulated this long ago and have long ago declared our readiness to talk about it, ”the deputy minister added.
In addition, Grushko noted that “the task of containing Russia is at the forefront of NATO’s policy and military development.” According to him, “colossal resources are allocated for this, it is not hidden that this is the main purpose of the alliance, and this very fact has a destructive effect on attempts to build common European security on other principles.”
The head of the US delegation, Wendy Sherman, in turn, said that a number of Russia’s key security proposals are unacceptable. She added that the representatives of Washington at the meeting with the Russian delegation told Moscow that they were not going to close the doors of NATO. According to her, participating in the alliance is the choice of each participating state, and not a forced step.
The meeting of the Russia-NATO Council ended in Brussels on Wednesday. The meeting took place at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Alliance. Negotiations began at 10 am local time (12:00 Moscow time). The meeting lasted longer than planned – more than four hours.
The Russian interdepartmental delegation included representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The alliance was chaired by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The meeting was also attended by representatives of 30 NATO member countries.
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft agreements between Russia and the United States and NATO on security guarantees. It follows from the documents that the alliance should refuse to conduct any military activity on the territory of Ukraine and other states of Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. Also, Russia and NATO must commit themselves not to create conditions that could be regarded as a threat by the other side.
