US officials have asked their Russian colleagues not to publish Washington’s written response to Moscow’s proposal on security guarantees, as reported by The Washington Post. However, according to the paper, “a senior State Department official acknowledged that the Kremlin may decide to publish it after the US sends it next week.”
The US Department of State sources also told The Washington Post that the written US response will include US proposals in the security domain and will demonstrate the country’s interest in maintaining the dialogue with Moscow. At the same time, the document will not contain any commitments regarding NATO’s open-door policy and the accession of new members.
However, the US administration believes that providing a written response is important because in this case the document can be read directly by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“There‘s one decision-maker in Russia and it’s President Putin,” the paper quoted another Biden administration official as saying. “If this then allows the ultimate decision-maker in Russia to look at these ideas and decide whether to move forward, it’s in our interest.”
However, it is stated that the US side does not want to be “the ones who foreclose a potential diplomatic solution.”
Following Friday’s meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Geneva, Washington agreed to provide written responses to Moscow’s proposals on security guarantees. After that, the US Secretary of State and the Russian top diplomat plan to hold the next meeting.
Ru-Main, 25.01.2022
Source: TASS
