Moscow: Russia unveiled proposals to contain the United States and NATO in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, calling for urgent negotiations with Washington as it amasses forces near Ukraine.
The United States said it was ready to talk but stated upfront that it disagreed with much in the far-reaching proposals, as it renewed warnings of painful reprisals if Russia invades Ukraine.
Russia released unfinished security documents — an unusual move in diplomacy — that call for US-led NATO alliance not to bring in new members or establish bases in ex-Soviet countries.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia was ready to hold security talks with the United States as early as Saturday.
“We are ready to immediately, even tomorrow — literally tomorrow, on Saturday — go for talks with the US in a third country,” he told reporters, suggesting Geneva as a venue.
President Joe Biden s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, said the United States was “fundamentally prepared for dialogue” and would coordinate closely with European allies.
“Russia has now put on the table its concerns with American and NATO activities; we re going to put on the table our concern with Russian activities that we think harm our interests and values,” Sullivan said at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“That is the basis of reciprocity upon which you would pursue any kind of dialogue.”
Another US official told reporters that the United States would respond “sometime next week” on a format for talks and said that Russia should already know that parts of the proposal will be “unacceptable” to Washington.
“If there is any further aggression against Ukraine, that will have massive, massive consequences and will carry a high price,” the official said. AFP
