Russian Foreign Ministry buildingMOSCOW, Feb 18Moscow conveyed to US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan the reaction to the American response on security guarantees, the Foreign Ministry said. The department said that Washington did not give a constructive response to the basic elements of the draft treaty prepared by the Russian side with the United States on security guarantees.
The West wants to “roll up” the conversation on security guarantees, the Foreign Ministry believes that it is about refusing further NATO expansion, about withdrawing the “Bucharest formula” that “Ukraine and Georgia will become NATO members”, and about refusing to create military bases on the territory of the states that were formerly part of the USSR and are not members of the alliance, as well as the return of military capabilities, including shock, and NATO infrastructure to the state of 1997. «In the absence of the American side's readiness to agree on firm, legally binding guarantees to ensure our security from the United States and its allies, Russia will be forced to respond, including by implementing measures of a military-technical nature,» the text says. The document emphasizes that there is no «invasion of Ukraine» and is not planned, and accusations against Russia are an attempt to put pressure on it and devalue the proposals for security guarantees. The document emphasizes that the demands to withdraw troops from certain regions on Russian territory are unacceptable and undermine the prospects for reaching real agreements.Lavrov spoke about the US response on security guaranteesClear argumentsRussia's response to the US response on security guarantees contains clear arguments to ensure stability, including global stability, the US and NATO should return to the implementation of peacekeeping measures and abandon anti-Russian rhetoric, the head said Leonid Slutsky of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs. As the parliamentarian added, «we are not talking about some kind of ultimatums», the Russian Federation declares the «package» nature of its proposals», on the basis of which it is possible to develop a new «security equation». «We call again on the United States and NATO to return to the implementation of peacekeeping measures, abandon the policy of containment and whipping up anti-Russian hysteria. We look forward to a constructive response from our Western partners,» he stated.Putin commented on the responses of NATO and the United States on security guaranteesSerious conversationRussia and the United States will soon begin a serious conversation on security, sending letters to each other on issues such as nuclear weapons cannot be limited, the head of the center for military-political studies of the Institute said in an interview with RIA Novosti Vladimir Batyuk, professor at the Department of World Politics at the Higher School of Economics, Vladimir Batyuk. . At the same time, he added: «Some things have appeared on which dialogue and compromise are possible, but this is still not what Moscow was counting on.» «/>Lavrov assessed the chances of agreeing with the West on security guaranteesA necessary conditionRussia will discuss issues of non-strategic nuclear weapons with the United States only after the United States withdraws its tactical nuclear weapons from the territory of non-nuclear European countries, military expert, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko expressed his opinion .According to him, the presence of US nuclear weapons in Europe is a violation of the basic principle of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. “It is understood that in the event of war, NATO non-nuclear countries receive American tactical nuclear weapons and then use them in a war against Russia,” the expert explained. Security Assurance Dialogue At the end of 2021, Russia published draft treaties with the United States and agreements with NATO on security assurances. Moscow, in particular, demands from its Western partners legal guarantees of refusing further eastward expansion of NATO, joining the Ukrainian bloc, and establishing military bases in post-Soviet countries. The proposals also contain a clause on the non-deployment of NATO strike weapons near Russia's borders and the withdrawal of alliance forces in Eastern Europe to the positions of 1997. Later, the US and NATO sent to Moscow written responses to Russia's proposals on security guarantees. 
Russia has not received direct answers on security guarantees, Peskov said
