MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. Russia knows no details concerning a meeting of Russia and NATO officials on Ukraine US President Joe Biden has announced, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the media on Thursday.
"I know nothing about any such meeting. I did see comments by the US president on this score. I proceed from the assumption that the formats for further talks on the ‘red lines’ our leadership was talking about for the past few days, and also maximally reliable legally binding security guarantees for Russia are subject to further discussion," Ryabkov said.
He speculated that there was a number of platforms where such discussions might be held.
"At this point, nothing is decided. The US announcements that are made unilaterally do not create a new reality for us. They are just a reminder these issues should be dealt with tightly," Ryabkov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier called upon NATO to enter into meaningful negotiations with the aim of giving Russia "reliable and long-term security guarantees." Moscow will be insisting in its dialogue with Washington and its allies "on producing concrete agreements" that would rule out NATO’s further eastward expansion or the deployment near Russian territory of weapon systems threatening its security, Putin said. He stressed Russia needed "legal, juridical guarantees because the Western counterparts have defaulted on their previous verbal pledges."
Putin and Biden on December 7 held two hours of negotiations on a video call to focus on Ukraine, bilateral relations, cybersecurity, and the Iranian nuclear deal.